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Low Temperature Scanning Probe Studies
 The properties of a material are always temperature dependent. As the temperature is raised, or lowered, different mechanisms can become more, or less, energetically favorable and phase transitions can occur in which the structure (physical, magnetic, electronic, etc.) changes abruptly, leading to a corresponding change in the material’s properties. SPM experiments can be carried out at either high or low temperatures to observe the atomic, nanoscale, or microscopic structures of interest that are related to the desired properties.
In the SPML laboratory we have low temperature STM and AFM capabilities in our ultra-high vacuum system. The bulk of our low T work to date though has been focussed on developing a new low temperature magnetic imaging system and using it to study current flow pathways in superconducting samples. This is carried out in support of DOE funded work by LANL’s Superconductivity Technology Center to develop coated conductors that will comprise future high efficiency power transmission and storage devices. Our low temperature instrument is being used to help in this effort by visualizing the current flow in these samples for the first time, understanding the current flow details, identifying defects, and using all of these results to help improve the coated conductor manufacturing process.
Magnetic Imaging of Superconducting Tapes
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Related Links
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Structure/Property Relations, MST-8