MRI Consortium: Development of magneto-ellipsometer for the MET beamline of the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS-II), Brookhaven National Laboratory

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A consortium between New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Columbia U., and the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS-II) will develop a new scientific instrument for advanced optical experiments at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Synchrotron radiation at the MET beamline of NSLS-II will be used as a light source to illuminate samples. Polarization of the light that is reflected from or transmitted through the samples will be analyzed to determine the sample properties and their changes under extreme conditions imposed by the external magnetic field, low temperatures, and high hydrostatic pressure. The new instrument will qualitatively improve understanding of material behavior under extreme conditions and will facilitate invention of materials with desired properties for nanoelectronics and spintronics. This instrument will become available to research groups from multiple universities thus promoting the progress in the field of materials spectroscopy. Distinguishing features of this Project include the integration of fundamental research with the education of undergraduate and graduate students and training of the new generation of the scientific instrument developers. A consortium between New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Columbia U., and the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS-II) will develop a multi-User facility for low-temperature ellipsometry and transmission/reflection polarimetry in high magnetic fields. The setup will be installed at the new synchrotron radiation source: the Magnetospectroscopy, Ellipsometry and Time-Resolved Optical Spectroscopies (MET) beamline of NSLS-II, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). Full Mueller matrix spectroscopic ellipsometry and polarimetry will be available in the spectral range between 10 cm-1 and 10,000 cm-1. The setup will have magnetic fields of up to 7 T with a capability to switch between the exact Faraday and Voigt configurations of the direction of the magnetic field with respect to the sample. The pump-probe capability at MET will be integrated in the setup to study changes of materials' properties induced by photo-induced carriers. Optics for reflectivity measurements under high hydrostatic pressure in the magnetic field will be also included. The proposed instrument will facilitate research activities aimed at better understanding low-temperature and magnetic effects in quantum materials, such as single crystals and thin films of multiferroics, superconductors, and topological insulators as well as in the related area of the non-trivial light propagation in magneto-electric media. Distinguishing features of this Project include the integration of fundamental research with the education of undergraduate and graduate students, training of the new generation of the scientific instrument developers, and their close collaboration with NSLS-II. The instrument will be offered to the external Users through the proposal-based General User access system at NSLS-II.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.