Magnetocaloric Effect in ErSi Compound

The magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects (MCEs) have been investigated in ErSi compound, which crystallizes in the orthorhombic CrB-type structure. This compound is antiferromagnetic (AFM) with a Néel temperature
$T_{N}$
of 12.5 K. The measurements of the temperature and field dependences of the magnetization clearly show that the ErSi compound undergoes a field-induced metamagnetic transition from AFM to ferromagnetic (FM) state below
$T_{N}$
. The isothermal magnetic entropy change
$(\Delta S_{M})$
and refrigerant capacity (RC) of ErSi have been measured for various applied magnetic fields and their values are found to be
${-}14.8$
J
$\cdot$
kg
$^{-1}\cdot$
K
$^{-1}$
and 210 J
$\cdot$
kg
$^{-1}$
for a field change of 0–5 T, respectively. The large MCE is attributed to the field-induced AFM to FM metamagnetism occurring in this compound.