Development of a Highly Sensitive Remote Controlled Vibrating Sample Magnetometer

This work details the construction and optimization of a fully automated remote controlled vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) for application in spintronic research and teaching. In our development, four pick-up coils were connected in a Mallinson configuration to minimize the noise level. The apparatus was carefully calibrated using a standard Ni disc, and hysteresis loop measurements of magnetic thin film samples acquired by the constructed VSM were also compared to Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) data taken for the same samples.  In plane and out of plane measurements of 25nm Fe thin films are also presented.  The fabricated VSM is currently able to achieve a sensitivity near 1x10⁻⁵emu.  Further alterations to the design that could improve beyond this limit are also discussed.