Condensed Matter/Materials Physics at Rowan University:

       The Department of Physics and Astronomy has added faculty and equipment in the area of materials physics over the past four years.  We have developed the infrastructure to do meaningful collaborative materials research with physics majors in a combination of recently renovated laboratory spaces and laboratory spaces that were previously used for other programs.  Presently, about 1300s.f. of laboratory space is dedicated to the fabrication, microstructural analysis, and physical property characterizations of materials which are candidates for technological applications. The situation will soon improve. A new science building will be completed during the summer of 2003. In addition to improved teaching spaces, research labs dedicated to materials research include a thin-film fabrication laboratory, a microscopy laboratory, a magnetics laboratory, and a properties characterization laboratory.

    Faculty Associated with the Materials Program:
        Jeff Hettinger- electrical transport, thermodynamic measurements, magnetization, thin film fabrication, microscopy
        Sam Lofland- microwave resonance, magnetization, scanning property mapping techniques
        Ernst Knoesel- experimental Optical Physics, Ultrafast Laser, Solid State Material Properties, Fluids
        K. V. Ramanujachary (Chary)-synthesis, material and microstructural characterization

   Partial Equipment List:

   Physical Property Charactization

•               Quantum Design 9T PPMS with Torque Magnetometry, Electrical Transport, Angular rotation capabilities,Heat Capacity and Thermal Transport
•             Quantum Design 9T PPMS with AC-Susceptibility, DC extraction, and a Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (not installed yet)
•             Cryomagnetics Split-coil Superconducting magnet (6T) with Gas-flow cryostat (1.8K-300K) and stepper motor controlled rotational flange(.05deg resolution)
•             Lakeshore Vibrating Sample Magnetometer with 1.2T electromagnet and 1000C furnace
•             EG&G Vibrating Sample Magnetometer with electromagnet with 12" pole faces and cryostat
•             Microwave resonance system with high-homogeneity 1.2T Varian magnet.
•             Exchange Gas cryostat with interachangeable tails and probes
•             EG&GVibrating Sample Magnetometer with Alpha 1.2T electromagnet for measuring magnetization as a function of stress
•             Network Analyzer

    Structural/Microstructural Characterization

•             Scintag X-ray Diffractometer with thin film attachment and furnace.
•             Meiji optical microscope with CCD
•             LEO 1530VP Scanning Electron Microsope
•             EDAX EDS system (compositional analysis)
•             TSL EBSD system(crystal STr

•             T-M Vacuum Thin film deposition system
•                       Deposition system Update(Early Sept. 2002)  (more deposition system information)
•             Denton Desk II coating system
•             Well diamond wire saw
•             Profilometer-Ambios XP-2

•             5-Hewlett Packard 34401A Digital Multimeters
•             2-Stanford Research 830 DSP Lock-in amplifiers
•             1-Keithley 224 Programmable Current Supply
•             1-Valhalla Scientific Current Calibrator
•             1-General Radio 1615A Capacitance Bridge
•             1-Lakeshore 340 Temperature Controller
•             1-Lakeshore 331 Temperature Controller
•             1-EG&G 7660 DSP Lock-in amplifier
•             1 Keithley 2400 Programmable Source Meter
•             3 Keithley 2182 Nanovoltmeters
•             1 Hewlett-Packard 14420A Nanovoltemeter
•             1 Cryomagnetics CS-4 Superconducting Magnet Power Supply
•             1 Cryomagnetics LM-500 Cryogenic Level Meter

•             JEOL 5200 Atomic Force Microscope (expected early December)

   Facilities Supporting Materials Science in Rowan's new Science Building

Image of exterior front of Rowan's new science building

    New Science Building
    Physics Floor Plan (first floor) [West (left) wing contains faculty offices and faculty/student collaborative research space]
    Overall Laboratory Space for Physics/Materials Science [larger image of the west wing]
    Microscopy Lab and Thin Film Lab