Mladen Barbic, Ph.D. - US grants

The goal of this Faculty Early Career Development project is to establish a research and teaching program at the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the California State University, Long Beach, that will serve the urban, ethnically and culturally diverse student community of southern California. The goals of the projects will include investigation of the physics of dynamical and thermal properties of individual magnetic nanostructures, as well as the spin electronic properties of tunable magnetic nanowire-based atomic point contacts and nanogaps. Additional focus of the research efforts will be in utilizing recently developed integrated optical and magnetic nanostructures towards the development of novel ultra-sensitive nanowire-based mechanical resonators integrated with the metallic plasmon optical nano-reflectors. Finally, new sensors and methodologies for magnetic resonance imaging will be explored and developed that include novel inductive and mechanical detection principles. These projects provide an excellent opportunity for both undergraduate and graduate students at the university that primarily serves traditionally underrepresented groups to learn about applications of magnetism and optics to a variety of interdisciplinary fields in nanotechnology.

The goal of this Faculty Early Career Development project is to establish a research and teaching program at the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the California State University, Long Beach, that will serve the urban, ethnically and culturally diverse student community of southern California. The goals of the projects will include investigation of the physics of individual magnetic nanostructures (only several hundred atoms across in size), as well as the electronic properties of magnetic atomic point contacts (spin electronics). Additional focus of the research efforts will be in utilizing recently developed integrated optical and magnetic nanostructures towards the development of novel ultra-sensitive nanowire-based mechanical resonators for magnetic resonance, biological, and chemical sensing applications. Finally, new sensors and methodologies for magnetic resonance imaging will be explored and developed that include novel inductive and mechanical detection principles. These projects provide an excellent opportunity for both undergraduate and graduate students at the university that primarily serves traditionally underrepresented groups to learn about applications of magnetism and optics to a variety of interdisciplinary fields in nanotechnology.

Technical Abstract

California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) requests a Physical Property Measurement System (PPMS). The instrument will have the following technical features: a PPMS base system with a 9 Tesla longitudinal magnet and power supply, PPMS EverCoolTM recondensing system, vibrating sample magnetometer, ac susceptibility/dc magnetization measurement option, horizontal sample rotator, ac transport property measurement system, and multi-functional probe. This state-of-the-art PPMS will be used for research into a broad range of scientific challenges in nanotechnology and material sciences, including detection of triplet superconductivity in Ferromagnet/Superconductor hybrid systems; development of nanostructured molecular or covalent superlattices and crystalline porous materials; study of dissipation mechanisms in superconducting YBa2Cu3O7 coated conductors; development of novel techniques for ultra-high resolution magnetic resonance microscopy; studies of magnetic properties on new complexes containing nitric oxide and transition metals. To promote research and teaching and maximize multi-user access, the PPMS will be located at Institute for Integrated Research in Materials, Environments and Society (IIRMES) at CSULB, the core analytical facility at California State University (CSU) system.

Non-technical Abstract

PPMS is the only instrument commercially available that provides precise, interactive, and simultaneous control of the temperature (1.9 - 400 K) and magnetic field (up to t 9 T) in a wide range. Such capability enables researchers to study magnetic, electrical, superconducting, and many other physical properties of materials that are strongly temperature- and magnetic-field dependent. The research performed on the PPMS will offer new insights into the physical properties of a diverse range of natural and synthetic materials. PPMS will serve as a major instrument essential to, but currently unavailable for the successful completion of various research programs at CSULB. PPMS will also contribute greatly to outreach and education programs. As a part of IIRMES, PPMS will serve a large academic user base in an environment that actively encourages the shared use of the instruments. This will results in efficient peer exchange and collegial interaction and foster collaborative ventures in cross disciplinary research and teaching. CSU system is the largest educational establishment in the U.S. serving a student population of over 410,000 students. The requested PPMS will be the first instrument of its kind within the CSU system to enable research in variable temperature and magnetic field environments. Among many research programs benefiting from the new instrument will be programs leading to finding new functionalities in magnetic thin films, development of advanced and functional microporus materials, better understanding of coated conductors, and development of new magnetic sensing mechanisms.

This proposal focuses on the integration of novel micrometer and nanometer scale Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) devices and materials into the lithographically fabricated micro-fluidic systems. Such miniaturization and implementation of NMR systems on a micro-fluidic platform will lead to the highly parallel chemical analysis of smaller volumes of bio-chemically important solutions with significantly greater sensitivity than previously possible. Reducing the size of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) devices on a chip will also lead to the non-destructive imaging of biological cells with an unprecedented spatial resolution.

Intellectual Merit Micro-fluidic chip-based NMR systems will be designed and fabricated implementing (a) components for application of large gradient magnetic fields, (b) permanent magnet-based devices that provide high local fields, and (c) micro/nanometer scale electro-magnetic coils that will significantly improve the sensitivity and resolution of NMR and MRI. This research will offer new tools for the study of individual cells, enabling both spectroscopic and imaging observation of changes in cell metabolism triggered by the micro-fluidic controlled environmental changes. Furthermore, the micro-fluidic NMR chips will provide the ability to manipulate pico-liters of solution and perform highly parallel NMR biochemical analysis. Fundamental limits of miniaturization and integration of NMR micro-technologies within the elastomeric micro-fluidic chips will also be explored.

Broader Impact This program will foster collaboration between a Ph.D. granting institution (Caltech) and a large, urban, minority serving non-Ph.D. granting university (CSULB). The Ph.D. and Masters students from both institutions will be exposed to the multi-disciplinary techniques from engineering, physics, and biochemistry, while being trained in micro-fabrication, fluidics, sensor design, and magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy techniques. The research that students perform is expected to find many other applications where small samples have to be analyzed and imaged within an inexpensive portable chip-based platform with particular emphasis towards disease diagnostics.