Collaborative Research: Development of a turnkey SQUID microscope platform for paleomagnetism and installation in a National Multi-User Facility

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

Rocks preserve important records of ancient geomagnetic fields. However, some records have remained inaccessible due to complex magnetic histories and mineralogy. The main goals of this collaborative project are to develop and build a magnetic microscope at MIT to measure paleomagnetic records in Earth rocks and other geological samples and to upgrade a second instrument at Caltech to enable these measurements. These will share a common platform that will expand paleomagnetic research opportunities nationally and enable independently verifying results. In addition, details of the platform will be disseminated to the scientific community to enable a broad range of applications. Many rocks that might preserve important records of ancient geomagnetic fields have remained inaccessible due to a combination of intricate magnetic histories and complex mineralogies. The main goals of this collaborative project are to develop and build a new Scanning Superconducting QUantum Interference Device (SQUID) Microscope (SSM) platform at MIT to measure paleomagnetic records in Earth rocks and other geological samples and to upgrade a second instrument at Caltech to enable these measurements. These will share a common platform that will allow for conducting multiple research projects from different research groups concurrently and for independently verifying results. In addition, details of the platform will be disseminated to the scientific community to enable a broad range of applications. This new SSM will have a unique combination of capabilities, which include cryogen-free operation for lower costs and long uninterrupted use, magnetic moment sensitivity of better than 1x10^-15 Am2, and spatial resolution of 100 micrometers. It will map the component of the magnetic field normal to the sample plane in a grid of positions with area up to 50 mm x 50 mm and with scanning speed of up to 5 mm/s. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.