MRI: Acquisition of PPMS EverCool Dewar, and Heat Capacity and Thermal Transport Probes for Research into Disordered Magnetic Materials at a Predominately Undergraduate Institution

0922833北方爱荷华州基德大学“该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。“技术总结：将使用该赠款购买的基于PPMS的仪器将用于测量低维材料（如嵌入过渡金属二硫属化物）的关键磁性和电子特性（磁化强度，磁化率，电阻率，比热和热功率）。 重点将放在具有相对简单的晶体结构的材料上，但这些材料通过受控地掺入选定的杂质原子来提供调节其物理性质的能力。我们将研究无序和化学杂质的加入如何影响相变，甚至产生新的电子或磁基态。我们的目的是阐明磁态和电子态存在所需的基本成分。除了科学研究价值外，新型杜瓦瓶还将大幅降低用于低温测量的液氦成本。这将使该仪器能够用于高级本科实验室和夏季研讨会，参与者包括传统上代表性不足的群体的高中教师和高中生，通过大学和向上拓展计划之间的合作伙伴关系。通过让我们的本科生接触到低温系统的奇异物理学，我们不仅将为他们的科学生涯做好准备，而且还将为纳米和其他先进材料在日常生活中发挥越来越大作用的世界做好准备。新材料的磁性和电子特性的研究对于美国和其他现代经济的持续增长至关重要。信息的处理、解释和分发。例如，微处理器速度和磁信息存储容量的显著提高只能通过利用通过对新材料和现有材料的实验和理论研究获得的知识来实现。随着美国和其他现代经济体从化石燃料转向可再生能源，材料也将发挥重要作用。例如，更高效率和更便宜的太阳能电池和更好（和更便宜）的电池。该项目旨在仔细研究相对简单的材料的磁性和电子特性，这些材料的成分可以被控制以产生所需的行为。这些研究将在各种条件下进行，包括低温和高磁场，以充分了解引起所观察到的特性的微观相互作用。在深入了解这些材料的特性之后，我们将处于一个非常有利的位置，可以将这些特性用于各种应用，包括上述应用。所要求的设备将允许进行广泛的磁和电子测量，同时通过使用最先进的制冷技术大大降低低温测量的成本。本科生、高中教师和高中学生将参与该项目的各个方面。将作出特别努力，让来自代表性不足群体的高中生参与科学相关领域的活动，以期增加他们在本科及以上阶段参与这些领域的活动。

0922833KiddUniversity of Northern Iowa"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)."Technical Summary: The PPMS-based instrumentation to be purchased with this grant will be used to measure key magnetic and electronic properties (magnetization, susceptibility, resistivity, specific heat, and thermopower) in low-dimensional materials such as intercalated transition-metal dichalcogenides. The focus will be on materials with relatively simple crystal structures but which provide the ability to tune their physical properties through controlled incorporation of selected impurity atoms. We will examine how disorder and the addition of chemical impurities influence phase transitions or even give rise to new electronic or magnetic ground states. Our intent is to elucidate the fundamental ingredients required for the existence of magnetic and electronic states. In addition to its value for scientific research, the new dewar will drastically reduce liquid helium costs for low-temperature measurements. This will enable the instrument to be used in advanced undergraduate laboratories and summer workshops involving high school teachers and high school students from traditionally underrepresented groups through partnerships via a partnership between the university and the Upward Bound Program. By exposing our undergraduate students to the exotic physics of low temperature systems we will be preparing them not only for scientific careers, but also a world in which nanoscale and other advanced materials will play an ever increasing role in everyday life.Layman Summary: The study of the magnetic and electronic properties of new materials is essential for the continued growth of the U.S. and other modern economies that are based upon the processing, interpretation, and distribution of information. For example, significant improvements in microprocessor speed and magnetic information storage capacity can only be effected by exploiting the knowledge gained through experimental and theoretical investigations of new and existing materials. Materials will also play an essential role as the U.S. and other modern economies move from fossil-fuel-based to renewable energy sources. Examples are higher-efficiency and cheaper solar cells and better (and cheaper) batteries. This project seeks to carefully investigate the magnetic and electronic properties of relatively simple materials with constituents that can be controlled to produce desired behavior. The studies will be carried out under a wide variety of conditions, including low temperatures and high magnetic fields, in order to fully understand the microscopic interactions that give rise to the observed properties. After acquiring a deep understanding of the properties of these materials, we will be in an excellent position to exploit these properties for various applications, including those mentioned above. The equipment that is being requested will allow a wide array of magnetic and electronic measurements while at the same time dramatically lowering the cost of low-temperature measurements through the use of cutting-edge refrigeration technology. Undergraduate students, high-school teachers, and high-school students will be involved in all aspects of the project. Special effort will be dedicated to the engagement of high-school students from underrepresented groups in science-related fields with a view to increasing their participation in such fields at the undergraduate level and beyond.