Physical Property Measurements

One of the most basic enterprises in nanoscience is to understand the relation between the structure of a material and its properties. This understanding forms the basis for all rational design of new materials with certain desirable properties. At iNANO a variety of tools to characterise structure at all levels are covered. However, it is of equal importance that one is be able to characterise the properties of materials. The Department of Chemistry has recently obtained funding for buying state of the art equipment to measure physical properties of materials.

One candidate for the final equipment is the Physical Property Measurement System (PPMS) from Quantum Design. The PPMS has a modular design. The same basic instrument can be equipped with different measuring probes and used to measure many different properties. In one configuration Seebeck coefficient (DV/DT), Hall coefficient (carrier concentration), electrical resistivity, thermal conductivity, magnetic susceptibility and heat capacity can be measured in the temperature range 2-400 K in magnetic fields from 0 to 9 tesla.

NB. Once the new equipment has been installed a more complete description of the capabilities will be provided.