HELIUM RELIQUEFIER FOR QUANTUM MATERIALS RESEARCH

The PI's research interests are in the study of new quantum phases of matter in materials. This work is necessarily performed at deep cryogenic temperatures in order to avoid thermal effects that normally destabilize quantum phases. The PI's previous research work includes the study of electronic transport through single molecules at cryogenic temperatures. This work uncovered the influence of single quanta of molecular vibrations on tunneling electrons, studied the Kondo effect in molecular transistors including the interplay between conduction electron ferromagnetism and the Kondo effect [ 4]. The PI then performed scanning tunneling microscopy measurements on cuprate high temperature superconductors in order to understand the nature of the superconducting transition at the atomic scale. This work clarified the relationship between the superconducting gap and transition temperature in the cuprates, discovered the behavior of the superconducting gap in the underdoped region of the cuprates and established the nature of the proximity effect in inhomogeneous superconductors.