Synthesis and Advanced Characterization of Quantum Materials

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This proposal seeks support for my research program in the experimental study of Quantum Materials. These materials are important as they challenge traditional theories and exhibit novel properties corresponding to new emergent electronic states of matter which may underlie next-generation technologies such as high field magnets for MRI or qubits for quantum computation.******My research program is interdisciplinary in nature, involving physicists, chemists and material scientists. It is also highly collaborative, involving international leading scientists and both graduate and undergraduate stages in all stages of the research. My students will become expert in a wide variety of advanced experimental techniques giving them transferrable skills that they will be able to apply in both industry and academic research environments. My students will present their research at international conferences including the APS March meeting as well as at topical meetings and summer schools.******The long term objective of my research is to discover, synthesize and understand new Quantum Materials with novel properties. My group and I will continue to grow and characterize new magnetic systems where geometrical frustration or low dimensionality lead to the emergence of novel excitations. These systems will include materials whose crystal structure involves triangular motifs to promote frustration including the pyrochlore (corner-sharing tetrahedra), Kagome and stacked triangular lattices. We will explore the role of single ion properties in selecting the magnetic ground state and the nature of the spin excitations.******We will continue our program to identify and characterize unconventional superconductors exhibiting broken time reversal symmetry or anisotropic pairing states which may indicate the presence of topologically non-trivial states which might useful for future quantum computers. ******The proposed studies will involve a wide range of experimental techniques, starting with materials synthesis using optical image and electrical tri-arc furnaces. We will measure ac and dc magnetic susceptibility down to 0.5K (a unique capability in Canada). We will use the volume-sensitive technique of muon spin rotation/relaxation to measure the local real space magnetic properties of materials using a range of new facilities at TRIUMF, including a new CFI-funded high energy muon beam. We will use neutron scattering to measure the corresponding reciprocal space magnetic properties and excitations. We will develop and apply the Beta-detected nuclear magnetic resonance technique at the ISAC facility of TRIUMF where a three-fold increase in available beam time will shortly become available.******This research program will result in new understanding of Quantum Materials, identifying new electronic states of matter and emergent excitations. Students will be trained at the forefront of this field as their careers develop through this research.*****