Rotator Press Contact Assemblies
Inspired by the extraordinary success of our puck-based press contact assemblies, we have developed an equivalent for the PPMS rotator option. Based around our custom rotator sample boards, these assemblies offer the same ease of sample mounting and exchange as the puck assemblies in a smaller form factor suitable for mounting onto the rotator. Samples up to 10 × 10 mm in size and from 1 mm to 3 mm in thickness can be accommodated as standard. Optionally, samples from 0 mm to 1 mm in thickness can alternatively be supported.
Our standard resistivity option design features both available measurement channels broken out to the same 2 mm spaced linear arrays of contact pins as our puck-based assemblies, while our standard layout for the ac transport option is that shown in Figure 7-2c of the AC Transport Option User's Manual, allowing for 5-point Hall and 4-point resistivity measurement of a single sample on channels 1 and 2 respectively. For more details, see the detailed schematic
.
In the case of van der Pauw measurements, since only channels 2 and 3 of the resistivity option are available within the rotator, these map by default to a van der Pauw resistivity measurement (channel 2) and a van der Pauw Hall measurement (channel 3). However, for those wanting to perform a full van der Pauw resistivity measurement utilising both channels, a board configuration is available that remaps channel 3 to the usual channel 1 resistivity arrangement. As with our puck-based assemblies, contact point spacings (sample sizes) of 2×2, 4×4, 6×6, and 8×8 mm are available, but since the probe tips are not reconfigurable, this is a fixed size that must be chosen at the point of ordering.
Since the ac transport option offers only a single current line to the rotator-mounted sample, it is not well-suited to performing van der Pauw measurements in the rotator. If you wish to discuss this possibility in more detail, please contact us.
As with our puck assemblies, custom designs can also be fabricated to your specification — simply contact us with your requirements.
| Probe material | Full-hard beryllium copper, gold-plated over nickel |
| Probe type | Round tip |
| Contact resistance | < 100 mΩ |
| Current rating | 2 A continuous, 3 A peak |
| Probe travel | 1.4 mm |
| Spring force | 0.5 N at 0.7 mm travel |
| Durability | 1,000,000 cycles |
| Functional temperature | 2 – 400 K |
| PC-ROT-RES | Two-part rotator resistivity press contact assembly | £500 |
| PC-ROT-ACT | Two-part rotator ac transport press contact assembly | £500 |
| PC-ROT-VDP RES&HALL | Two-part rotator van der Pauw resistivity press contact assembly standard configuration: resistivity (ch. 2) and Hall effect (ch. 3) | £500 |
| PC-ROT-VDP RES ONLY | Two-part rotator van der Pauw resistivity press contact assembly remapped configuration: resistivity (both channels) | £500 |
Note that, unlike the sample puck press contact assemblies, the rotator assemblies do not feature replaceable probe tips due to their small size, and are generally significantly less robust than their larger counterparts. While they should survive many measurements, they must be viewed as intrinsically consumable items. A small cross-head screwdriver is the only tool required for sample mounting.