Research | LAMBDA - Laboratory for Analysis of Materials Behaviour in DC and AC fields

The activities of the Laboratory “LAMBDA” concern the study of the magnetic properties of the superconducting and the magnetic materials, on samples in form of bulk, single crystal, polycrystals, films, tapes and nano-powders, both in DC and in AC magnetic field. For these activities, the Laboratory is equipped with a series of measurement equipment and instrumentation with high technical/scientific level, among which:

• A Physical Properties Measurement System (PPMS) by Quantum Design, able to measure:
• the DC magnetization as function of the field, the temperature and the time
• the AC magnetic susceptibility up to the tenth harmonics in alternate field in the range of frequencies 10Hz-10kHz and up to a maximum amplitude of 15 Oe
• the Hall effect and the electric transport properties both in alternate and in direct current

The above analysis can be performed in DC magnetic field up to a maximum of 9 Tesla, and in a temperature range between 2 K and 400 K

• A Cryo-NanoMOKE 3 by LOT-QuantumDesign/Durham Magneto Optics, able to measure the surface magnetic properties of thin films, by means of the magneto-optical Kerr effect (longitudinal, transverse and polar) using a laser beam with a wavelength of 660 nm and a spot diameter lower than 5 micron, in the temperature range between 3 K and 300 K, and in magnetic fields up to 4300 Oe.
• A home made AC susceptometer, optimized for the complex magnetic susceptibility measurement on bulk samples in a high AC magnetic field up to a maximum of about 200 Oe, in a frequency range between 10 Hz and 11 kHz, and in a temperature range between 52 K and 300 K
• A home made bolometer for the measurements of the power losses with a sensitivity of about 1 microWatt/cm, at the liquid Nitrogen temperature (77 K), on superconducting tapes carrying a direct or alternate electric current up to a maximum of 40 A @50 Hz, in a simultaneous direct or alternate magnetic field up to approximately 6000 Oe, with any phase difference between the AC electric current in the tape and the AC magnetic field

The laboratory is also equipped with a 3D printer for PLA and Nylon, with a picovoltmeter, with various Lock-In amplifiers, AC and DC voltage sources, multimeters and thermoregulators

Phone: +39 (0)89 96 8279