MRI: Acquisition of High Field Physical Properties Measurement System with Cryogenic AFM/MFM

Ohio State University, The, Columbus OH

Investigators

Abstract

Technical Summary: The Quantum Design Physical Properties Measurement System combined with a compatible cryogenic Atomic Force/Magnetic Force scanning probe Microscope (AFM/MFM) will provide a powerful and versatile tool to central Ohio's materials research community. New magnetic materials and devices with unprecedented capabilities and levels of performance are being created by tailoring the structure and composition of multi-component materials at the nanometer scale. This versatile instrument will allow measurements of electronic transport, spin transport and magnetic properties of such materials as well as topographic and magnetic imaging over a wide range of temperatures and magnetic fields (up to 14 Tesla). This powerful and broadly applicable tool, not currently available to the OSU materials research community at large, will enable and accelerate a broad spectrum of materials research topics. In particular it is designed to address challenges faced by OSU's newly awarded NSF-funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) which is studying two topics in magnetoelectronics: Spin-Preserving Networks and Complex Oxide Heterostructures. The instrument will provide MRSEC researchers with the critical ability to probe systems ranging from individual magnetic structures to novel bulk materials. It will be installed in an existing OSU user facility to guarantee long-term instrument maintenance and upkeep and to ensure access to the instrument by the central Ohio's broad academic and commercial materials community. The instrument will broaden outreach and enhance the education of undergraduate and graduate students in cutting edge materials research. Layman's Summary: New materials with novel properties are enabling technologies that enhance the productivity of commercial enterprises and improve quality of life. The discovery of new capabilities is critically dependent on the tools that tell us how these new, often tiny, materials and devices work. The instruments needed to do this are increasingly sophisticated and expensive, putting them beyond the reach of most researchers. We propose to purchase such a powerful tool, a High Field Physical Properties Measurement System with Cryogenic AFM/MFM, that helps us understand a variety of materials. This instrument is not currently available to the materials research community, at large, in central Ohio. The instrument will reside in an existing OSU user facility open to both university and industrial users. In addition to ensuring broad researcher access, locating it in our facility will guarantee that this powerful instrument is kept in top condition by professionals to maximize scientific and public returns on this research infrastructure investment. This tool will particularly benefit a recently NSF funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Center that is focused on enabling new magnetic functionalities in technologically important materials. The automated nature of the instrument makes it accessible to undergraduate and graduate students and so enhances our ability to teach tomorrow?s scientific leaders how cutting edge materials research is done.