Physical Properties Measurement

The PPMS is an advanced system designed to automatically measure a wide range of physical properties including thermal, mechanical, magnetic, and electrical characteristics up to a maximum magnetic field of 16 Tesla. With its dedicated software, it enables seamless 24-hour continuous automated measurements. The use of a specialized sample pack facilitates easy attachment of samples, ensuring effortless operation and precise results.

The main purpose of this system is to identify potential candidate of electrolyte exhibiting high-performance for rechargeable battery. Each hole in the microplate contains an “electrochemical cell” composed of electrode sheets and a separator between them. The addition of an electrolyte into electrochemical cells make them tiny rechargeable battery cells. A plate of rechargeable cells is then transferred by a robotic arm to the measurement section where the cells’ charge/discharge capacities are measured, resulting in the ability to automatically perform this electrolyte preparation–measurement cycle enables it to evaluate about 1,000 electrolyte samples a day.

Dynacool is the measurement system capable of applying a high magnetic field of 14 T and temperatures from 2~1000 K. It can measure electrical properties, magnetic properties, and specific heat. Only magnetic properties measurement is available at high temperature.

Material property tests are conducted using hollow specimens. Slow strain rate tensile tests and fatigue tests can be performed with the hollow specimens filled with high-pressure hydrogen gas.

Sub-micron mechanical characterization can be performed in the SEM. The measurement position can be determined with high precision, and in combination with EBSD and EDS, the microstructure-orientation-composition-mechanics relationship can be evaluated at high throughput. The measurement can be performed in a vacuum environment in the temperature range of -150℃ to 1000℃.

Long-term creep testing is performed for heat resistant materials. Creep data are used for evaluation of allowable stress and creep life, contributing to safety of high temperature components.

This system can cool quantum materials down to 0.03 K and apply a magnetic field of 20 T to them. Using this system, one can study electronic properties of quantum materials such as metals, semiconductors, and superconductors.

This system enables current-voltage measurements in the temperature range from 1.5 K to 300 K. Furthermore, a high magnetic field of up to 8 T can be applied to the sample with a superconducting magnet. The sample is fixed on an IC chip with 24 electrical lines. Therefore, the current-voltage measurement can be performed at 24 electrodes formed on the sample at the maximum.

Thermal conductivity can be measured not only for bulk samples but also for sample forms ranging from nano-thin films to microcrystals. Thermal conductivity of different parts of the sample can also be evaluated by site selective measurements. In addition, instead relying on extraction trials from multiple thin film samples prepared with different thicknesses, it is possible to evaluate the interfacial thermal resistance in a single sample.