Er-based glassy composites as potential regenerator material for low-temperature cryocooler

Low-temperature specific heat of Er-based metallic glassy composites is investigated. It is found that the low-temperature specific heat of the alloys compares favorably with that of prototype crystalline Er3Ni which is the low temperature (<15 K) cryocooler regenerator material. The Er-based glassy alloys also have wide temperature range for the large low-temperature specific heat, large magnetic entropy, and the peak of the low-temperature specific heat is tunable. The alloys combining excellent mechanical properties and tunable composition make them a potential regenerator material for small scale low-temperature cryocooler. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.