Acquisition of a Magnetometer for Materials Research and Student Training at the University of Michigan

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

This grant provides support for the acquisition of a magnetometer for materials research and student training at the University of Michigan. This new instrument will be used for fundamental materials characterization and exploration and will serve a broad and interdisciplinary community of materials researchers at the University of Michigan. The instrument will strengthen existing materials synthesis efforts in the Chemistry, Geology, Nuclear Engineering, and Physics Departments by providing timely feedback on the relationships between structural and morphological characteristics, and the underlying magnetic phenomena such as moment configuration and anisotropy, magnetic order, and other types of phase transitions. The instrument will also be used to perform fundamental measurements at low temperatures, high magnetic fields, and high pressures on materials with strong electronic correlations, molecular magnets, geological materials, and nanostructured materials. Hydrostatic pressure apparatus for use in magnetization measurements will be developed, allowing the exploration of magnetic stability in both geological materials and in quantum critical systems. The new magnetometer will be the centerpiece of a new interdisciplinary laboratory course for undergraduates on magnetic materials and their characterization techniques, which will be taught by faculty members from the Physics, Chemistry, Geology, Materials Science, and Nuclear Engineering departments.