Dear BNC faculty, To those of you who are interested in magnetic, electrical, and thermal properties characterization of materials at high fields and/or low temperatures at Birck: We have some year-end funds to use toward the purchase of additional measurement capabilities for the instruments in the spintronics lab, namely the Quantum Design MPMS and/or PPMS. There is consensus that a rotation stage for electrical transport in PPMS is of high interest, but there are funds remaining and several options which are of interest to various people which compete for the remaining funds. Please indicate which of the following automated measurement options you would have IMMEDIATE or POSSIBLE interest in, keeping in mind that the instrument goes from T=1.8-400 K and up to B=9 tesla: - Heat Capacity microcalorimeter: typical sample masses ~mg, used for bulk/crystal, NOT for thin films. Used For: Phase transitions, entropy calculations, Debye temperature, electron effective mass (low temp.), lattice/electronic/magnetic excitations... - Thermal Conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, Nernst effect, electrical resistivity (latter is added for ZT determination): bulk samples of typ. 3-5mm length- again NOT for films. Has a heater, two thermometers, and two voltage probes. Used For: low temp thermoelectrics, lattice/electronic thermal conductivity, magneto-thermal effects... - Large sample Magnetometry (VSM): this means maximum transverse dimension up to 10mm. It would enable larger devices to be magnetically characterized. - Magnetometry under fiber optic illumination: IR/VIS or UV/VIS fiber delivers light to the sample in the magnetometer. If you have a vote to put in, please let me know by Friday morning. For those who responded to my previous email on this topic, I will assume your support is toward my initial proposal of Heat Capacity unless I hear otherwise from you. Thank you for your feedback on this! Best regards, Neil -- Neil R. Dilley Research Scientist Birck Nanotechnology Center , Rm 1010 1205 West State St. West Lafayette, IN 47907-2057 765-496-6080