Patents Examined by John Patrick Sheehan
  • Method of making active magnetic refrigerant materials based on Gd-Si-Ge alloys
    Patent number: 7114340
    Abstract: An alloy made of heat treated material represented by Gd5(SixGe1?x)4 where 0.47?x?0.56 that exhibits a magnetic entropy change (??Sm) of at least 16 J/kg K, a magnetostriction of at least 2000 parts per million, and a magnetoresistance of at least 5 percent at a temperature of about 300K and below, and method of heat treating the material between 800 to 1600 degrees C. for a time to this end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2006
    Assignee: Iowa State University Research Foundation, Inc.
    Inventors: Alexandra O. Pecharsky, Karl A. Gschneidner, Jr., Vitalij K. Pecharsky