SIGNIFICANT EVENTS - FUTURE FLIGHT PROGRAM
08/04/00

New Material for Magnetic Bolometry: PdMn Thin Film Fabricated and Tested by DYNAMX Team

At the University of New Mexico, the DYNAMX team headed by PI Rob Duncan has successfully sputtered a thin film of 0.7% Mn in a Pd host onto pyrex and fused silica substrates. Subsequent testing in a vacuum cryostat with a SQUID readout has shown that these films have ample sensitivity for use in a new class of magnetic bolometers, and in new local thermometers with spatial resolution on the order of a few microns, and temperature resolution near 2K of a nanokelvin. This novel development will result in a new class of bolometers for use in future fundamental physics experiments in space, and in new radiometric applications.