Acquisition of a Physical Properties Measurement Facility for Materials Research and Education

University Of Delaware, Newark DE

Investigators

Abstract

An IMR award is made to the University of Delaware to purchase a physical properties measurement system (PPMS) to support a number of complementary and multidisciplinary research programs in the areas of novel magnetic materials and superconductivity. The PPMS is an automated variable temperature-magnetic field system that will provide a suite of new electro-transport and magnetometry measurement capabilities that include resistivity, Hall effect, current-voltage characteristics, noise, DC magnetization, AC susceptibility and anisotropy. The system will serve the diverse needs of several faculty members who require routine characterization and detailed studies of materials in magnetic fields ranging from 50 mOe to 90 kOe and at temperatures ranging from 1.9 K to 400K that are currently not attainable. Active research programs that benefit from access to such a system include studies of: "spin-electronics", in particular spin-polarized transport in ferromagnetic tunnel junctions, permanent magnets and small magnetic particles, soft magnetic nanocomposites, magnetism of transition metal organometallics, linear magnetoresistance of silver chalcogenides, and electromagnetic properties of recently discovered superconductors. These research programs address fundamental phenomena materials, as well as technological aspects related to materials synthesis, processing, and performance. This IMR award is to establish a state-of-the-art physical properties measurement (PPMS) facility at the University of Delaware. The facility will be used by a diverse set of faculty in the Departments of Physics and Astronomy, Materials Science and Engineering, and Chemistry and Biochemistry who require studies of the electrical and magnetic properties of materials under extreme temperatures and magnetic fields. The research programs address fundamental phenomena in novel magnetic materials and superconductivity, as well as technological aspects related to materials synthesis, processing, and performance. Some areas of research that will benefit from this new facility are related to magnetic field sensing and data storage, such as the unusually large and linear magnetic response found in silver telluride compounds and in the emerging field of "spintronics". The latter is a revolutionary approach to electronics that is based on the spin of the charge carrier in addition to its charge. Spin-electronic devices have already found commercial application in the computer hard-drive industry and hold great promise for low power, non-volatile memory applications. The PPMS facility will significantly expand the scope of materials characterization efforts at the institution. In addition to its impact on the scientific goals of the IMR program, the PPMS facility will be integrated into the educational activities of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. These activities include curriculum development for graduate and senior undergraduate level courses (such as laboratory exercises for a course on Magnetic Materials), research opportunities for undergraduates, and established outreach activities that promote the benefits excitement of research to local high school students and parents.