Magnetocaloric effect in R$_5$Si$_4$ (R = Tb, Dy, Ho) alloys

Experimental studies of the structural, magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of polycrystalline alloys Tb$_5$Si$_4$, Dy$_5$Si$_4$, Ho$_5$Si$_4$ in external magnetic fields up to 3 T have been carried out, and changes in the magnetic part of the entropy in higher fields of 20 T generated by superconducting magnetic systems have been calculated. Magnetic measurements have shown that these compounds have a low coercive force and reach saturation in small fields. It has been established that the magnetocaloric effect in the studied compounds is observed in a wide temperature range, and for intermetallides Tb$_5$Si$_4$, Dy$_5$Si$_4$, Ho$_5$Si$_4$ has several areas of existence comparable in magnitude of the effect. The presence of several intervals of the existence of the magnetocaloric effect is caused by a series of magnetic phase transitions in these ferrimagnetic compounds.