Apparatus for high resolution microwave spectroscopy in strong magnetic fields

TL;DR

This paper presents a robust, high-resolution microwave surface impedance measurement system operable in high magnetic fields and at low temperatures, suitable for studying superconducting samples with high sensitivity.

Contribution

The authors developed a novel rutile resonator-based apparatus that overcomes limitations of superconducting resonators, enabling high-sensitivity microwave spectroscopy in strong magnetic fields.

Findings

Achieved high quality factors (>10^6) with rutile resonators in magnetic fields.

Enabled measurements across multiple frequencies (2.64-14.0 GHz) in a single system.

Maintained frequency stability with drifts less than 1 Hz per hour.

Abstract

We have developed a low temperature, high-resolution microwave surface impedance probe that is able to operate in high static magnetic fields. Surface impedance is measured by cavity perturbation of dielectric resonators, with sufficient sensitivity to resolve the microwave absorption of sub-mm-sized superconducting samples. The resonators are constructed from high permittivity single-crystal rutile (TiO2) and have quality factors in excess of 10^6. Resonators with such high performance have traditionally required the use of superconducting materials, making them incompatible with large magnetic fields and subject to problems associated with aging and power-dependent response. Rutile resonators avoid these problems while retaining comparable sensitivity to surface impedance. Our cylindrical rutile resonators have a hollow bore and are excited in TE_01(n-d) modes, providing homogeneous microwave fields at the center of the resonator where the sample is positioned. Using a sapphire hot-finger technique, measurements can be made at sample temperatures in the range 1.1 K to 200 K, while the probe itself remains immersed in a liquid helium bath at 4.2 K. The novel apparatus described in this article is an extremely robust and versatile system for microwave spectroscopy, integrating several important features into a single system. These include: operation at high magnetic fields; multiple measurement frequencies between 2.64 GHz and 14.0 GHz in a single resonator; excellent frequency stability, with typical drifts < 1 Hz per hour; the ability to withdraw the sample from the resonator for background calibration; and a small pot of liquid helium separate from the external bath that provides a sample base temperature of 1.1 K.