A near room-temperature martensitic transition is observed in the ferromagnetic austenite state of ${\text{Ni}}_{50}{\text{Mn}}_{34}{\text{In}}_{16}$ alloy with 2% Cu substitution at the Ni site. Application of magnetic field in the martensite state induces a reverse martensitic transition in this alloy. dc magnetization, magnetoresistance and strain measurements in this alloy reveal that associated with this martensitic transition there exist a large magnetocaloric effect, a large magnetoresitance and a magnetic-field temperature-induced strain. This NiMnIn alloy system thus is an example of an emerging class of magnetic materials whose physical properties can be tuned by suitable chemical substitutions, to achieve magnetic-field and temperature-induced multifunctional properties at and around room temperature

• Received 23 July 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.82.172411