Property Measurement

Enabling Discovery

The Property Measurement Facility was established in 2001 to provide researchers on campus with access to state-of-the-art measurement capabilities that involve specialized instrumentation not easily acquired or maintained at the single-investigator level.  Capabilities include magnetometry, thermal and electrical transport, heat capacity, and UV-vis-IR optics.  The goal of the facility is to catalyze research by allowing researchers to obtain sophisticated data using experimental tools with which they may have little to no prior experience.   In this way, the facility helps scientists to explore new research avenues and expand their scientific opportunities.

Many instruments hosted by the facility provide data down to cryogenic temperatures (below 2 Kelvin), and a significant addition to the facility has been the incorporation of two helium reliquefiers that virtually eliminate the need to purchase liquid helium.  An added benefit of the liquefiers is their ability to keep the cryogenic systems (including superconducting magnets) cold indefinitely, so that they are always ready to perform measurements. Users thereby obtain the most immediate feedback on their ideas, accelerating the pace of discovery.

Since moving to the Singh Center, the performance of our instrumentation has improved significantly due to reduced ambient noise and superior building services.  Benefits are especially apparent in the operation of our SQUID magnetometer and the helium reliquefiers.

Domestic and international users from institutions with historically underrepresented minority (URM) student populations are particularly encouraged to discuss their measurement needs with us.

Instrumentation

Quantum Design PPMS 9 Tesla with Evercool II
Quantum Design PPMS 9 Tesla
Quantum Design MPMS 7 Tesla with Evercool
Princeton Instruments TriVista Spectrometer with Si and InGaAs array detectors