Project

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Lay summary
Magnetism plays an important role in many new materials that show interesting functional properties. For example, many materials of interest for applications are synthesized in form of thin films which feature an inherently small magnetic response. Other examples include magnetically-frustrated materials which can feature magnetic phase transitions without any easily detectable anomaly in the magnetic susceptibility. Further examples are multiferroic materials with directly coupled mag- netic and ferroelectric properties which may feature electrically-tunable magnetic properties. Magnetic properties are often difficult to measure because of their small size, requiring the use of large facilities for microscopic measurements and sensitive magnetometers for macroscopic magnetic measurements. In this project, we will purchase and commission a sensitive magnetic property measurement system feating a sensitivity of 10-8 emu which will be used for large facility projects carried out at PSI. The magnetometer will will also be adapted that magnetic measurements can be made simultaneously with pyroelectric and dielectric measurements or in the presence of a high electric fields and electric currents. This project will allow new type of experiments particularly in the field of magneto-electric functional materials.

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Last update: 21.02.2013

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Number	Title	Start	Funding scheme

We propose the purchase of a magnetic properties measurement system (MPMS) to perform sensitive magnetic susceptibility measurements in the presence of high electric fields and at sub Kelvin temperatures. The MPMS features a 7T magnet and a sensitivity of 10-8 emu at zero magnetic field. The equipment will be adapted so that high electric fields can be applied to materials during the magnetic measurements, and will thus have a powerful new capability to study magneto-electric materials. For the measurements below 1K, which are required for some of the proposed measurements, we require a He3 insert that is designed for the MPMS.An MPMS with a high electric field option is necessary to initiate the proposed new projects at the PSI. It will play a crucial role in the study of new materials or new phenomena for which detailed magnetic susceptibility measurements prior to advanced muon, neutron and X-ray measurements are essential.The research projects cover a wide range of materials: novel multiferroics materials that can only be stabilized in single-crystalline form in thin films, artificial frustrated spin and multiferroic composite nanostructures, monolayers of single-molecule magnets with ferromagnetic surfaces, unconventional quantum phases in insulators and strongly-correlated electron systems, and magneto-electric organo-metallic quantum magnets.For all these projects, the availability of a sensitive magnetometer is essential for the characterization of the magnetic properties and for the planning of cutting-edge experiments at the large user facilities at the PSI. The availability of large electric fields, and the development of the necessary electrode materials, will open new possibilities to discover novel materials properties in a wide range of materials classes.