Physical Properties at Extreme Conditions

The investigation of a wide spectrum of physical properties of our new materials – ranging from powders over small single crystals to tiny flakes of 2D materials and microscopic devices manufactured by focused ion beam – is at the core of our research. In order to capture a maximum of the intrinsic structural and electronic properties of the samples, it is mandatory to measure their properties under all attainable conditions. These are primarily low temperature, high magnetic field, and high applied pressure and their combinations.

Specialized teams have been formed for this challenging task.

After synthesis and structural and chemical characterization of the samples, a rapid assessment of the basic physical properties is essential. This task is addressed by the Physical Characterization Group which has built up a large pool of magnet cryostat instruments, covering temperatures from 0.05 K to 400 K and magnetic fields up to 18 Tesla.

The High Pressure Group is specialized in measurements of small samples under high pressure up to 100 GPa. The properties measurements at low temperatures in high magnetic fields comprise electrical transport, synchrotron X-ray diffraction structural investigations and lattice dynamic studies by Raman spectroscopy. Moreover, high-pressure Mössbauer spectroscopy at the synchrotron and conventional ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy is among our methods.

One overarching interest of the researchers in these teams is the phenomenon of superconductivity occurring at low temperatures at ambient pressure and materials getting superconducting at high pressure.