MRI: Acquisition of a Physical Properties Measurement System With 9 Tesla Magnetometer (Dynacool) for Research and Teaching at VCU

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This Major Research Instrumentation award will help acquire a Physical Properties Measurement System (PPMS) with autorotation, supplementary electrical measurements and low and high temperature capabilities coupled with a Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Additionally, the cryogen-free PPMS/VSM would enable making robust low temperature measurements without requiring liquid helium to extremely sensitive magnetic measurements. The equipment will help enhance research and teaching efforts at VCU and nearby universities including those related to Smart Materials, Electron Theory of Solids, Solid State Physics and Experimental techniques and Foundations of Nanoscience. Improved facilities at VCU will impact high tech skills imparted to both regular and part time students which eventually will help industries located in northeast USA.This major instrumentation will help support researchers at VCU who have developed research programs in which fundamental properties of magnetic materials are used in devising novel applications. These materials are being studied at different length scales for applications ranging from magnetostrictive sonar transducers, self-sensing magnetoelectric actuators, spintronic devices, non-volatile memory, magnetic nanoparticular catalysts, magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical applications such as magnetic hyperthermia for oncological treatment and nanoscale sensors. The fundamental scientific contributions include understanding anisotropic behavior of magnetic and magnetostrictive materials along different crystallographic orientations, magnetoelectric behavior of multifunctional magnetostrictive-piezoelectric composites at multiple length scales, experimental understanding of self-assembled ordered arrays of magnetic nanowires and quantum dots produced by selective chemical or physical electrodeposition on nm-sized pores of an alumina film and magnetic study of nano-manufactured nanoparticles of ferrites and gadolinium based materials. These activities require a Physical Properties Measurement System (PPMS) with supplementary Vibration Sample Magnetometer (VSM) capable of measuring magneto-electric, mangetocaloric and magneto-optic measurements at both low and high temperature and fields. Additionally, the use of a liquid helium-free PPMS would enable robust low temperature measurements. This will keep the operating cost very low while allowing sensitive magnetic measurements (better than 10-6 emu) and observation of coherent spin transport phenomena which are difficult to observe at elevated temperatures.