Abstract 9422192 Childress Partial support is provided to the University of Florida to acquire a SQUID magnetometer for the characterization of thin-film and nanostructured magnetic and superconducting materials. The equipment will have the sensitivity required to detect magnetic signal from ultra-small magnetic structure in an applied magnetic field range of + 5 Tesla. In addition, it will be equipped with the ability to perform AC susceptibility measurements, which are critical to the accurate non-contact characterization of superconducting phases, and useful for the study of relaxation phenomena in nanostructured magnetic materials. Finally, it will be able to perform accurately at very low fields, so that magnetically soft thin layers (useful for magneto-resistive sensor applications) may be accurately characterized. An instrument of this kind is not currently available at the University. An older instrument in the Physics Department is being used continuously and does not include AC measurement or ultra-low fields capabilities. The proposed instrument will be used by a total of six faculty members and 20 graduate/undergraduate students.
