Radio-frequency impedance measurements using a tunnel-diode oscillator (TDO) technique

Abstract

A resonant method based on a tunnel-diode oscillator (TDO) for precision measurements of relative impedance changes in materials, is described. The system consists of an effective self-resonant LC-tank circuit driven by a forward-biased tunnel diode operating in its negative resistance region. Samples under investigation are placed in the core of an inductive coil and impedance changes are determined directly from the measured shift in resonance frequency. A customized low temperature insert is used to integrate this experiment with a commercial Model 6000 Physical Property Measurement System (Quantum Design). Test measurements on a manganese-based perovskite sample exhibiting colossal magneto-resistance (CMR) indicate that this method is well suited to study the magneto-impedance in these materials.Comment: Rev. Sci. Instrum. (in press), PDF file, 6 pages, 2-column, embedded figure