SμS – Swiss Muon Source

µSR - Muon Spin Rotation, Relaxation or Resonance: A research tool using muons as sensitive local magnetic probes in matter.
Research at the LMU focuses mainly on magnetic properties of materials and on positive muons or muonium (bound state of a positive muon and an electron) as light protons or hydrogen substitutes in matter.

smus

Worldwide unique: The Low-Energy Muon Beam and µSR Spectrometer for the study of thin films, layers and surfaces, the possibility to perform high-field µSR with a field up to 9.5 Tesla, and the Extraction of Muons On Request for high frequency resolution and slow relaxation measurements.

Call for Proposals

Next Deadline: June 01, 2024.

Khasanov et al

Tuning of the flat band and its impact on superconductivity in Mo5Si3−xPx

The superconductivity in systems containing dispersionless (flat) bands is seemingly paradoxical, as traditional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory requires an infinite enhancement of the carrier masses. However, the combination of flat and steep (dispersive) bands within the multiple band scenario might boost superconducting responses, potentially explaining high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates and metal hydrides. Here, we report ...

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Junginger et al
•Large research facilities

SRF material research using muon spin rotation and beta-detected nuclear magnetic resonance

SμS

Muon spins precess in transverse magnetic fields and emit a positron preferentially in the spin direction at the instant of decay, enabling muon spin rotation (μSR) as a precise probe of local magnetic fields in matter. μSR has been used to characterize superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) materials since 2010. At TRIUMF, a beam of 4.2 MeV μ+ is implanted at a material-dependent depth of approximately 150 μm. A dedicated spectrometer was developed to measure the field of first vortex penetration and pinning strength in SRF materials in parallel magnetic fields of up to 300 mT. A low-energy beam available at PSI implants μ+ at variable depth in the London layer allowing for direct measurements ...

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superconductivity

Interface-induced superconductivity in magnetic topological insulators

One of the recipes for realizing topological superconductivity calls for interfacing a topological insulator with a superconductor. In a variant of that approach, Yi et al. grew a heterostructure consisting of layers of a magnetic topological insulator, (Bi,Sb)2Te3 doped with chromium, and antiferromagnetic iron telluride. Neither of these materials is superconducting, but iron telluride is a parent compound for a family of iron-based superconductors. Interfacing the layers led to the appearance of superconductivity in the presence of ferromagnetism and topological band structure. This combination of properties makes the heterostructure a promising, although not yet proven, platform for observing chiral topological superconductivity.

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