Electrical and Magnetic Properties

Owned by Wirth, Justin C
Last updated: Sept 20, 2024 by Neil Dilley
5 min read

New Equipment Highlights

Already installed:

Probe station LakeShore CRX-VF 2.5 tesla vertical B-field : Temp from10 K - 500 K, DC to 40 GHz probing

Real-time GHz oscilloscope Keysight DSOV134A: 13 GHz, 80/40 GSa/s, 4-port

Arbitrary waveform generator Keysight M8195A: 65 GSa/s, 16 GSa memory, sequencer, fast switching, 4 channels

Parameter analyzers Keysight B1500A: combined multi-frequency C-V and I-V, hi-res SMUs (<10 fA)

High current-voltage curve tracer bundle Keithley 2651A/2657A/2636B/4200A-SCS: I-V and C-V to 2 kV / 100 amp

Advanced low frequency noise analyzer Keysight E4727B A-LFNA: 30 mHz - 100 MHz

32-channel digital pattern instrument NI PXIe-6571

Vector network analyzer Copper Mountain S5243: 10 MHz - 44 GHz, 2 port

Probe station MicroXact CPS-50-HT: up to 900 C, high vacuum or inert gas, DC up to 40 GHz (RF to 500 C)

Probe station LakeShore CRX-4K: 4.5 K - 350 K, DC to 40 GHz probing

Coming in 2024:

Probe station FormFactor PAV200: semi-automatic 8" wafer scale probing from DC to 67 GHz, high vacuum (1e-6 torr), up to 300 C

New recharge facility in Wang Hall: RF measurements

Suite of Keysight equipment for advanced RF measurements including Keysight PNA-X N5247B, PNA-L N5232B, PXA N9030B, AWG M8196A, oscilloscope UXR0134A, oscilloscope MXR058A

Overview

Electrical Properties

Probe stations are used in conjunction with semiconductor parameter analyzers, lock-in amplifiers, function generators, and curve tracers to electrically drive devices and measure the performance and outputs of semiconductors, metals, superconductors, and transistors.

  • Eight probe stations (LakeShore, Cascade, MM, Jandel, EverBeing) both inside and outside the clean room, providing a temperature range of 3.2 – 675 K and magnetic fields up to 2.5 T; Environments can be air, vacuum or inert gas, and measurements can be made from DC to RF
  • MDC mercury probe
  • Quantum Design DynaCool PPMS cryogen-free platform provides 1.8 – 400 K temperature range and magnetic fields up to 9 T
  • Oxford Triton cryogen-free dilution refrigerator provides temperatures down to 10 mK and magnetic fields up to 12 T

Magnetic Properties

These instruments measure the magnetic fields emanating from, or inside of, the material under study. This allows us to quantify the total number of magnetic spins in a material, its magnetic anisotropy, magnetic phase transitions and GHz spin dynamics. Samples can be thin films, powder, bulk or single crystals.  Equipment includes:

Quantum Design MPMS-3 EverCool SQUID magnetometer:

  • high sensitivity <10-8 emu (10-11 A-m2) noise floor
  • temperature from 1.8 – 1000 K
  • magnetic field up to ±7 tesla
  • SQUID AC susceptibility from 0.1 – 1000 Hz
  • High speed: m(H) loops in minutes
  • Samples: film, bulk, crystals, powder
  • 8mm diameter sample space (4x4mm film typical)

Quantum Design DynaCool PPMS:

  • Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) with <10-6 emu sensitivity
  • Broadband ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) up to 18 GHz
  • Temperature from 1.8 – 400 K
  • Magnetic field up to ±9 tesla

DynaCool PPMS is also equipped for thermal measurements:

  • Bulk thermal conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, Nernst effect, thermoelectric ZT
  • Heat capacity microcalorimeter

Research scientists in charge:

Quantum Design lab - Neil Dilley

Probe station lab - Angshuman Deka

Wang Hall RF lab - Ahmad Darwish


 Probe station comparison table
Station name

location

# probes

Sample size max

Chuck bias?

Stage temp range

Comments/features

Probe 1 - Cascade MPS150 DC probe station

2043

4

4 inch

yes

20 to 200 C


MM P200L semi-automatic probe station

2043

4

8 inch

yes

-65 to +400 C

Semi- Automatic wafer mapping Probe Station.

Jandel 4-point probe

2043

4

N/A

N/A

N/A

Sheet resistance measurements

LakeShore CRX-VF probe station

2069

4DC/2RF

2 inch

yes

10 - 500 K

2.5 tesla vertical B-field; RF to 40 GHz

Desert Cryo probe station

2069

4

2 inch


3.2K to 675K

PI: Peide Ye

MDC Mercury probe

2043

2

4 inch

yes

N/A

CV characterization of non contact sample

MM 6000 Cleanroom DC Probe station

Q Bay

4

4 inch

yes

N/A

Cleanroom probe station








Oxford Triton Dilution Refrigerator

F Bay





PI: Peide Ye

Quantum Design DynaCool PPMS

1157

12

10mm


1.8 – 400 K

B= 9 tesla; Feedthru for any rack electronics

Quantum Design MPMS-3 SQUID Magnetometer

1157

8

5mm


1.8 – 400 K

B = 7 tesla; Feedthru for any rack electronics

Suss PLV50 DC probe station

1089A

4

4 inch



LDV compatible

Alessi probe station

2037





PI: Alam

Cascade Summit probe station

2037





PI: Alam

Nextron probe station (on optical table)

2037

4



down to 77 K

vacuum, controlled atmosphere; PI: Hussain

MMR probe station (on optical table)

2037

4




vacuum, controlled atmosphere; PI: Hussain

Cascade PMC 200 DC/RF probe station

1083

4RF/2DC

6 inch

Yes

7  to 473 K

Low Noise, high vacuum Probe Station. PI: Dana Weinstein

 J Bay - measurement units available with probe stations
instrument

frequency
range

source/measurecomments
VIR

Agilent 4156C

DC

0 - 100 V
µV – 100 V

10 fA – 100 mA
fA – 100 mA


I-V, C-V, pulsed ; precision semiconductor parameter analyzer;
measure specs for HRSMU ; voltage input impedance > 1015  Ω

Keithley 4200A-SCS parameter analyzer

DC I-V
low freq C-V

0 ± 210 V
0.2 µV – 100 V

0 ± 100 V
100 fA – 1 A


I-V, C-V, pulsed I-V

Keysight E4990A impedance analyzer

20 Hz – 50 MHz




measures complex impedance;
DC biasing (V or I) also possible

Hewlett Packard 428420 Hz - 1 MHz


measures complex impedance;
DC biasing (V or I) also possible
 Spin Lab BRK1157A - measurement units for use with the DynaCool PPMS


instrument

frequency

range

source/measurecomments
VIR

Keithley 2182A nanovoltmeter

DC

nV – 100 V



most sensitive DC voltage measurement from Keithley

Keithley 2000 multimeter

DC

µV –  kV

0.1 µA – 3 A

µΩ – 100 MΩ


Keithley 2400 sourcemeter

DC

µV – 200 V
µV – 200 V

10 pA – 1 A
10 pA – 1 A

 µΩ – 10 GΩ


Keithley 2636B sourcemeter

DC

5 µV – 200 V
100 nV – 200 V

1 fA – 1.5 A
100 aA – 1 A

 µΩ – TΩ

sense input impedance >1014 Ω

Keithley 6221 DC/AC current source

DC – 100 kHz


1 pA – 100 mA


output resistance >1014 Ω

Keithley 6487
pA-meter / V src

DC

mV – 500 V

 20 fA – 20 mA



SR830 lock-in amplifier

1 mHz – 102 kHz

6 mV – 7 V
8 nV/√Hz

 106 or 108 V/A


digital lock-in; input impedance = 10 MΩ (V); 1 kΩ (I);
noise level at 1 kHz

SR560 preamp

DC - MHz

 6 nV/√Hz



input impedance = 100 MΩ; noise level at 1 kHz;
gain: 1 – 50,000

Stanford DS345 function generator

DC – 30 MHz

5 mV – 5 V 



source impedance = 50 Ω;
DC + AC source

Yokogawa GS200
V/I source

DC

100 nV – 30 V

10 nA – 200 mA



Ametek 5210 lock-in amplifier

0.5 Hz – 120 kHz

 ~ mV – ~ 5 V
~ nV/√Hz

< fA


analog lock-in; V noise level at 1 kHz

Quantum Design ETODC - 200 Hz

0 - 12 V
1.5 nV/√Hz

10 nA - 100 mA
~ nA

µΩ – 5 GΩdigital lock-in; 2 independent channels
Quantum Design
Resistivity		DC~ 10 nV/√Hz10 nA - 10 mAmΩ – MΩmeasurements are chopped +/- at 10 Hz; multiplexed to 3 channels

Contact: Neil Dilley – ndilley@purdue.edu 


Educational Resources

"Learn How to Optimize Low-Level Measurements using Lake Shore Cryogenic Probe Stations and Quantum Design PPMS®"

November 16, 2023

Keysight Lunch & Learn seminar:
"Advanced Material and Device Characterization with the B1500A Parameter Analyzer"

November 2, 2023

BNC Tutorial
"A Practical guide to electrical characterization of materials at BNC"
February 4, 2020

seminars from this workshop:

"Electrical measurements: contacts, measurement electronics, general advice" ; Dr. Neil Dilley, BNC

"A Short Guide to Cryogenic Probing & Transport Measurements", Dr. David Daughton, LakeShore Cryotronics

"Electrical Transport Tutorial: The Final frontier", Dr. Nithin Raghunathan, BNC

"A Faster Hall Measurement", Dr. Jeff Lindemuth, LakeShore Cryotronics