Midlands Mag-Lab: A versatile magnetometry facility for advanced materials characterisation

磁性是人们长期以来认识到的物质的物理性质之一。利用磁性材料的一个早期例子是古代的磁石指南针，它是由一种磁性矿物氧化铁制成的，在大约2000年前被用作导航设备。然而，直到20世纪初量子力学的出现，我们才对材料中磁性的原子起源有了了解。我们现在知道，磁性是由构成物质的电子的行为引起的一种现象。磁性材料之所以如此引人注目，是因为它们的化学结构和化学键可以让它们的电子以各种方式强烈地相互作用，从而产生丰富多样的磁性，我们可以调整和利用这些磁性来造福我们。事实上，今天我们在一系列技术设备中使用磁性材料，这些技术设备彻底改变了现代生活。例如，计算机硬盘驱动器中的读头的基础是两层磁性材料，每层磁性材料的相对方向控制读取数字信息的电流。在另一种被称为稀土磁铁的磁性材料中，磁效应是如此之强，以至于它可以用来悬浮火车，并构成用于推动汽车和风力涡轮机发电的强大、紧凑电机的基础。在先进材料跨学科研究领域的前沿，需要发现和理解新型磁性材料的特性，以推动21世纪新技术的发展突破。这将涉及发现磁性材料的替代来源，以克服我们对其关键的全球供应链和危险的采矿实践的过度依赖，利用磁制冷现象开发环保冷却技术，并发现可能支持下一代范式转换量子技术的材料中从未见过的磁性。为了实现这些雄心勃勃的目标，获得和开发最先进的材料磁性表征设备是必不可少的。与米德兰兹磁实验室一起，我们将在伯明翰大学建立一个独特的用户设施，该设施基于尖端的超导量子干涉装置（SQUID）磁力计-材料磁性表征的首要工具。一套多功能的测量选项将提供广泛的温度，磁场和压力范围，以探测各种先进材料的特性。这包括达到比外太空低10倍的温度，比地球磁场强10万倍的磁场，以及比大气压力大1万倍的压力。该设备对于实现广泛的先进材料研究组合至关重要，来自米德兰兹地区的40多个学术团体需要麦格实验室提供的能力，以及国际和工业组织对该设施的更广泛需求。以公平和透明的设备访问为核心建立原则，并在初始用户组中有相当比例的早期职业研究人员，Mag-Lab将在确保英国先进材料研究的未来成功和实力方面发挥关键作用。

Magnetism is one of the most long-appreciated physical properties of matter. An early example of the exploitation of magnetic materials is the ancient lodestone compass, made from a magnetic mineral of iron oxide and used as a navigational device some 2000 years ago. However, it was not until the advent of quantum mechanics at the beginning of the 20th century that we developed an understanding of the atomic origin of magnetism in materials. We now know that magnetism is a phenomenon that arises from the behaviour of the electrons that make up matter. What makes magnetic materials so remarkable is that their chemical structure and bonding can allow their electrons to strongly interact in a variety of ways, giving rise to a rich diversity of magnetic properties that we can tune and harness for our benefit. Indeed, today we make use of magnetic materials in a range of technological devices that have revolutionised modern life. The basis of the read-head in a computer hard drive, for example, is two layers of magnetic materials, where the relative orientation of the magnetism within each layer controls the flow of current to read digital information. In other magnetic materials known as rare-earth magnets, the magnetic effect is so strong that it can be used to levitate trains and forms the basis of powerful, compact motors that are used to propel cars and to generate electricity from wind turbines. At the forefront of the interdisciplinary research field of advanced materials is the need to discover and understand the properties of novel magnetic materials to drive breakthroughs in the development of new technologies for the 21st century. This will involve discovering alternative sources of magnetic materials to overcome our over-reliance on their critical global supply chains and hazardous mining practices, exploiting the phenomenon of magnetic refrigeration to develop environmentally-friendly cooling technology, and uncovering never-before-seen magnetic properties in materials that may underpin the next generation of paradigm-shifting quantum technologies. To achieve these ambitious goals, access to - and development of - state-of-the-art equipment for the magnetic characterisation of materials are essential. With the Midlands Mag-Lab, we will establish a unique user facility at the University of Birmingham based on a cutting-edge Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) magnetometer - the premier tool for the magnetic characterisation of materials. A versatile suite of measurement options will provide access to a broad range of temperatures, magnetic fields and pressures at which to probe the properties of a diverse range of advanced materials. This includes reaching temperatures ten times colder than outer space, magnetic fields one hundred thousand times stronger than the earth's magnetic field and applied pressures ten thousand times greater than atmospheric pressure.The equipment will be essential to enabling a wide-ranging portfolio of advanced materials research, with over 40 academic groups from across the Midlands region requiring the capacity and capability afforded by Mag-Lab, as well as international and industrial organisations demonstrating the wider requirement for the facility. With core establishing principles of fair and transparent equipment access and a significant proportion of early-career researchers within the initial user group, Mag-Lab will play a key role in ensuring the future success and strength of UK advanced materials research.