Special Date. Thursday March 8 2007

Probing Materials with Microwaves

Stephen Remillard

Grand Valley State University

All phases of matter respond to electromagnetic waves in ways that reveal aspects of electromagnetic material properties. This talk will highlight a microwave research laboratory that is used to measure the response of materials to electromagnetic waves of varying frequencies and field levels. The versatility of this facility is enhanced by a temperature range that extends into the cryogenic. This talk will highlight three experiments in which microwaves are used to observe (i) resistive loss in superconductors, (ii) low voltage plasmas in gases, and (iii) band structures in dispersive periodic media. In all three cases, the experiments reveal complex system electrodynamics rich in physical significance and accessible to undergraduate researchers, including nonlinear superconductor losses, secondary electron emission, and forbidden plane wave bands.