Caloric materials near ferroic phase transitions

At present, magneto-, electro- and mechanocaloric effects are intensely investigated as the basis for possible cooling applications. This Review discusses and compares the three effects from both a fundamental and an applied perspective, with an emphasis on the experimental methods used to measure them. A magnetically, electrically or mechanically responsive material can undergo significant thermal changes near a ferroic phase transition when its order parameter is modified by the conjugate applied field. The resulting magnetocaloric, electrocaloric and mechanocaloric (elastocaloric or barocaloric) effects are compared here in terms of history, experimental method, performance and prospective cooling applications.