Coulomb blockade thermometry based nanocalorimetry

TL;DR

This paper introduces a nanocalorimeter combining Coulomb blockade thermometry and membrane-based calorimetry, enabling precise specific heat measurements of microcrystals and thin films in challenging sub-Kelvin and high magnetic field conditions.

Contribution

It presents a novel setup that integrates Coulomb blockade thermometry with SiN$_x$ membrane calorimetry for accurate, high-sensitivity specific heat measurements at microgram scales.

Findings

Achieved 0.1 nJ/K resolution at 500 mK.

Validated the setup with Sr$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$ measurements.

Demonstrated benefits for microcrystal measurements with CeRh$_2$As$_2$.

Abstract

Specific heat is a powerful probe offering insights into the entropy and excitation spectrum of the studied material. While it is well established, a key challenge remains the measurements of microcrystals or thin films especially in the sub-Kelvin, high magnetic field regime. Here we present a setup combining the high sensitivity of SiN$_x$ membrane based calorimetry with the absolute accuracy of Coulomb blockade thermometry to realise a nanocalorimeter for such tasks. The magnetic field independent technique of Coulomb blockade thermometry provides an on-platform thermometer combining a primary thermometry mode for in-situ calibration with a fast secondary mode suitable for specific heat measurements. The setup is validated using measurements of a 20 $\mu$g sample of Sr$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$ achieving a resolution on the order of 0.1 nJ/K at 500 mK and an absolute accuracy limited by the determination of the sample's mass. Measurements of CeRh$_2$As$_2$ further highlight the benefits of measuring microcrystals with such a device.