Repair of Helium-3 Refrigerator for Cryomagnetic Nanoprobe Experiments

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This RTI proposal requests the funding to repair an existing helium-3 refrigerator, which is indispensible for continuing the bulk of the PI's research program and graduate student training, both funded by the Discovery Grant. The refrigerator has been in productive operation for over a decade, but earlier this year it broke down catastrophically due to cryogenic aging, causing it to lose all of its helium-3 which is the main substance needed for the ultralow temperature cooling. The repair will involve rebuilding the refrigerator, recharging it with helium-3 and reviving it for as-new cryogenic operation. This specialized refrigerator is used to carry out cryomagnetic nanoprobe experiments (down to 300 milliKelvin and up to 9 Tesla) on complex oxide and intermetallic materials that exhibit both unconventional superconductivity and topological phenomena. The scientific goal is to examine the essential characteristics of these quantum materials phenomena, towards elucidating the underlying physical mechanisms. The technological goal is to harness these phenomena for use in nanoelectronic devices such as ultra high-speed transistors and in quantum devices such as topological computing elements. In addition to the advancement of scientific knowledge, the cryomagnetic and nanoprobe techniques involved in these experiments are among the most cutting-edge in condensed matter physics, materials science and nanoengineering today, with far-reaching technological benefits for Canada.