Magnetic fields have long been recognized as critical for
science and technology. During the last 20 years, research
in high magnetic fields has advanced the world’s
understanding of a host of materials science issues and led
to new states of matter, e.g., the quantum and fractional
quantum Hall Effects for which the scientists were awarded
Nobel prizes. The demands of science have driven a
continuing appetite for higher and more specialized magnetic
fields and new capabilities have developed both at the NHMFL
and in many other laboratories across the world. In this
presentation, a short overview of large-scale worldwide
facilities with an emphasis on those available at the NHMFL
will be presented along with some scientific and
technological drivers that have been the underpinnings for
the large investments needed to build and support these
facilities.
[A4.002] Opportunities for Condensed Matter Research at the Advanced Photon Source
J. Murray Gibson (Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois 60439)
The Advanced Photon Source is the Western Hemisphere's most
brilliant source of x-rays. This 3rd-generation 7-GeV
synchrotron source can accomodate 34 insertion device ports,
of which 30 are committed, and 24 are currently operating.
In Fiscal Year 2002, we had 2767 unique users carry out at
least one experiment at the source, of which 35research in materials science or condensed matter physics.
Techniques commonly used by condensed matter scientists
include single-crystal and powder diffraction, high-pressure
studies, inelastic scattering, absorption and fluorescence
spectroscopy, magnetic scattering and fluctuation
spectroscopy. Access to the Advanced Photon Source can be
either as a general user (www.aps.anl.gov) or as a partner
user. Proposals from general users are encouraged, and
beamtime is granted based on competitive review. Our
capacity to accomodate more general users continues to
increase. Typically, partner users build specialized
equipment which is made available to general users. Many of
our sectors have been built and operated by external
Collaborative Access Teams, which support general users who
enter through the APS centralized system. With the help of
partnerships, the APS continues to evolve state-of-the-art
beamlines of interest to condensed matter scientists, in
areas such as inelastic scattering and nano-imaging. The
Advanced Photon Source is closely connected with the new
Center for Nanoscale Materials User Facility at Argonne. In
this talk I will present notable examples of recent
condensed matter physics experiments which utilized the
unique capabilities of existing beamlines, and discuss
future beamlines at the Advanced Photon Source.
[A4.003] Opportunities for condensed matter research at the SNS
K. W. Herwig (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) is an accelerator-based
neutron source currently under construction at the Oak Ridge
National Laboratory in Tennessee. Scheduled for completion
2006, the facility will provide the most intense pulsed
neutron beams in the world for scientific and industrial
research and development. Fifteen of the available 24 beam
line locations have been assigned through a review process
to neutron scattering instruments for condensed matter
research and a sixteenth has been assigned for fundamental
physics studies. The majority of these instruments are
already funded, with two actively seeking support. The
instrument designs have incorporated advances in neutron
beam optics and other areas so that the nearly order of
magnitude increase in source flux will typically be
multiplied by factors of 2 to 10 in comparing instrument
performance to currently available best-in-class
instruments. These instruments will span a wide range of the
neutron scattering techniques commonly used today while the
enhanced performance will greatly extend the usefulness of
neutron scattering to the study of condensed matter.
[A4.004] Opportunities for Condensed Matter Research at the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (http://www.nnin.org)
Sandip Tiwari (Cornell University)
A major challenge in science and engineering research at the
nano-scale, and particularly for condensed matter, is the
availability of infrastructure that can allow easy and quick
implementation of structures, devices, or more complex
systems necessary for making rigorous measurements or for
other exploratory directions of interest. The experiments
connect across length scales – nanometer and up, employ a
variety of materials and techniques of assembly and
patterning, and require a complex knowledge-mix derived from
other research areas and tools that require skill and are
hard to access. The National Nanotechnology Infrastructure
Network (NNIN; www.nnin.org) is an NSF-funded infrastructure
of open shared facilities across the country that enables
the national community to pursue research and technology
development that can benefit from nanotechnology. The NNIN
provides easy hands-on access to external users, remote
usage, staff support, low cost usage, knowledge
infrastructure, and brings together an extensive coordinated
array of instruments for fabrication, synthesis, and
characterization together with other infrastructure.
Particularly relevant to condensed matter physics (e.g., in
experiments involving single-electron transistor or its use
in ultra-sensitive measurements, or measurements across a
single nano-scale structure such as a molecule or a
nanocrystal, development of new apparatus that allows X-ray
measurements of soft materials, etc.) is the ability to
integrate the small length scale through synthesis and
electron-beam lithography, growth and deposition of a
variety materials with controlled properties, patterning of
complex shapes in the three-dimensions, connecting such
structures, characterization, and the ability to achieve
this quickly and at low cost. NNIN tool resources that span
focused-ion beam, electron microscopy, spectroscopic
techniques, etc. for characterization; synthesis, growth,
deposition, etc. for assembling; lithography, etching, etc.
for patterning – all enable the researcher to focus on their
own research interest by leveraging the NNIN infrastructure.
Access of NNIN is designed for ease of use – quick access
(typically, 2 weeks), strong support (direct staff and
web-based interactions), and remote execution for simple
projects.
[A4.005] Opportunities for Condensed Matter Research at the TRIUMF Muon Spin Resonance User Facility
Sydney Kreitzman (TRIUMF)
Muons are nature's exquisite magnetic quantum probe which, when harnessed by a meson-producing accelerator like that found at TRIUMF, enable researchers to wield a uniquely sensitive and versatile experimental tool in the fields of condensed matter physics and physical chemistry. This prototypical atomic probe, viz. a light proton or hydrogen-like center, can often extract a characterization of the microscopic magnetic or electronic environment which is very difficult, or impossible, to obtain by other means.
To it's credit the \muSR technique has major accomplishments in the study of superconductivity (much of the current effort into HTc), exotic magnetism in strongly correlated and frustrated systems, hydrogen-like reaction kinetics, quantum diffusion, molecular dynamics of radicals, and the effects of hydrogen-like impurities in semiconductors. The breadth of this research is based on the unique properties of muons to act as a highly sensitive microscopic probe of its local magnetic field and also its ubiquitous capability of interacting with the host's electrons to form a variety of unbound or bound muon-electron states (i.e. atomic and/or molecular configurations) which have unique identifiable signatures.
To facilitate these research objectives with maximum efficiency, TRIUMF, through the Canadian National Research Council and associated funding agencies, have cooperated to support a dedicated \muSR User Facility that coordinates, maintains and develops \muSR infrastructure for a large international user group. In this presentation, a broad overview of the technique, the science and the experimental facilities at TRIUMF will be presented.