Temperature-dependent transport measurements with Arduino

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how Arduino microcontrollers can be used to perform temperature-dependent transport measurements across a wide temperature range, suitable for educational and research purposes.

Contribution

It introduces a method for conducting transport measurements with Arduino, addressing temperature determination and resistance measurement from cryogenic to room temperatures.

Findings

Successful measurement of Gadolinium's magnetocaloric effect

Resistive transition of a high-Tc superconductor observed

Validated Arduino-based approach for physics experiments

Abstract

The current performances of single-board microcontrollers render them attractive not only for basic applications but also for more elaborate projects, amongst which physics teaching or research. In this article, we show how temperature-dependent transport measurements can be performed using an Arduino microcontroller, from cryogenic temperatures up to room temperature or above. We focus on two of the main issues for this type of experiments: the determination of the sample temperature and the measurement of its resistance. We also detail two student-led experiments: evidencing the magnetocaloric effect in Gadolinium and measuring the resistive transition of a high critical temperature superconductor.