MRI: Acquisition of a Versatile Cryogen-Free Dilution Refrigerator for Materials and Condensed Matter Physics Research

在超低温下测量材料的物理性质是凝聚态物理、新材料科学以及量子计算和新探测器等未来技术发现的关键。重大研究仪器计划支持为加州大学圣巴巴拉分校(UCSB)的跨学科、多用户设施购买多功能稀释冰箱系统，该系统具有集成的磁场能力。该系统将安装在UCSB的低温设施中，该设施已经为多样化和跨学科的用户社区提供服务。它将向大学社区的所有成员、其他学术机构的研究人员以及整个南加州和更远的行业开放。该仪器将极大地扩大研究生和本科生研究人员的培训机会，他们是主要的动手用户。将提供正式的(课程工作)和实践培训，而设施的工作人员将负责学生培训、安全、日常监督和例行维护。除了在培训下一代科学家和工程师方面发挥核心作用外，稀释冰箱将非常适合本科生设计和研究项目，并使本科生研究人员接触到低温科学和测量技术。该仪器在UCSB的一系列跨学科研究项目中满足了在超低温下对材料进行表征的关键需求，这些项目的重点是低维材料、量子计算、实现和发现新的量子现象和相、开发新的测量技术以及表征低迁移率材料的电子结构。UCSB的低温设施已经为多样化和跨学科的用户社区提供服务，他们将可以使用稀释冰箱系统。稀释系统利用了技术的最新发展，极大地促进了其作为多用户设施的运营。这些包括脉冲管技术的最新进展，允许无制冷剂和全自动操作。该系统是负载锁定的，这增加了每次仪器时间可以分析的样品数量。这些功能便于获取和操作，极大地降低了维护和运营成本，并允许高吞吐量的样品。

Measurements of the physical properties of materials at ultralow temperatures are key to discoveries in condensed matter physics, the science of new and emerging materials, and future technologies, such as quantum computing and new detectors. The Major Research Instrumentation program supports the acquisition of a versatile dilution refrigerator system with an integrated magnetic field capability for an interdisciplinary, multi-user facility at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). The system will be housed in the Low Temperature Facility at UCSB, which already serves a diverse and interdisciplinary user community. It will be available to all members of the University community, to researchers at other academic institutions, and to industry throughout Southern California and beyond. The instrument will greatly expand the training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate researchers, who are the primary hands-on users. Both formal (course work) and practical training will be provided, while the facility's staff will be responsible for student training, safety, day-to-day oversight, and routine maintenance. In addition to its central role in the training of the next generation of scientists and engineers, the dilution refrigerator will be ideally suited for undergraduate design and research projects, and serve to expose undergraduate researchers to low temperature science and measurement techniques. The instrument addresses critical needs in materials characterization at ultra-low temperatures within a wide range of interdisciplinary research programs at UCSB that focus on low-dimensional materials, quantum computing, the realization and discovery of new quantum phenomena and phases, the development of new measurement techniques, and the characterization of the electronic structure of low-mobility materials. The Low Temperature Facility at UCSB already serves a diverse and interdisciplinary user community, who will have access to the dilution refrigerator system. The dilution system takes advantage of recent developments in technology that greatly facilitate its operation as a multiuser facility. These include recent advances in pulse-tube technology, allowing for cryogen-free and fully automated operation. The system is load-locked, which increases the number of samples that can be analyzed per instrument time. These features facilitate accessibility and ease of operation, dramatically reduce maintenance and operating costs, and allow for a high throughput of samples.