Facilities for Physics Students

hamline students and professors using the microscope EVO 15

As a physics student at Hamline, you’ll have access to state-of-the-art equipment, including our high-tech Scanning Electron Microscope (learn more below). We also collaborate with large research institutions around the country.

On our own campus, we have access to:

  • Electrical equipment including digital oscilloscopes (both physical boxes and computer interfaces), digital multimeters, function generators (including programmable ones), and power supplies
  • An 8-node parallel computing cluster, each with a quad-core Intel chip
  • An 8-Watt solid-state green laser (like the laser light show ones)
  • A 12 femtosecond Titanium Sapphire oscillator
  • A Magneto Optical Kerr Effect apparatus for measuring magnetic effects in thin films
  • A “neutron howitzer” radioactive source we can use to expose materials like aluminum to high fluxes of neutrons
  • Facilities and equipment for constructing and testing batteries and supercapacitors:
    • VTI double glove box station (< 1 ppm moisture, < 1 ppm oxygen) for constructing perovskite solar cells and lithium batteries, and supercapacitors
    • Two MSK-110 hydraulic crimping machines for assembling lithium batteries and supercapacitors
    • DZF-6020 vacuum oven
    • Thermolyne high temperature tube furnace
    • LAND battery testing system with 32 channels
  • Equipment for design and testing perovskite and dye-sensitized solar cells:
    • VTC-100 vacuum spin coater used to deposit uniform thin films
    • GSL-1700X-SPC-2 vacuum thermal evaporator used for depositing metallic electrode materials
    • CHI 650C electrochemical workstation
    • ORIEL LCS-100 sun simulator
  • Equipment for creating and testing biosensors, chemical sensors, and wearable electronics:
    • PerkinElmer Lambda 45 UV-Vis spectrometer used for investigating interactions between nanomaterials and biomolecules
    • ExactaCoat programmable 3-axis robot coater for customized spray patterns
    • PTL-MM01 dip coater for sol-gel nanoparticle and multilayer coatings
    • Coherent Sapphire SF laser system (488 nm) for fabricating photonic crystals
    • Keithley 6430 sub-femtoamp sourcemeter
    • Keithley 2400-LV sourcemeter
  • Equipment for water purification and desalination:
    • PerkinElmer Lambda 45 UV-Vis spectrometer
    • Zahner CIMPS-1 electrochemical station for photoelectrochemical characterizations
    • Kyowa DMe-210 contact angle meter
    • Oakton PC 2700 benchtop pH/conductivity meter
  • High vacuum thin film deposition system equipped with thermal evaporator, RF and DC sputtering sources for fabricating thin film solid state devices, such as lithium ion batteries, solar cells, and biosensors
  • Six 8-inch Celestron C8 telescopes, with a focal length of 2054 mm; each telescope has a motorized equatorial mount, optical adapter, star diagonal, 40 mm objective lens, and 25 mm objective lens
  • An SBIG STF-8300M 3326 x 2504 pixel CCD with filter wheel and regulated cooling
  • A LabVIEW site license
  • A Matlab site license
  • A Mathematica site license
  • All the materials necessary for a Piper Physics Patrol show at a local elementary, middle, or high school

Scanning Electron Microscope

Renewable Energy and Environmental Research Laboratory (REER)

The mission of Hamline’s REER Laboratory is two-fold: to conduct cutting-edge energy and environmental research projects, and to offer hands-on learning and understanding of environmental science and technologies, both to Hamline’s own students, and to those in the greater community. To learn more about REER, its community partnerships, and the research it’s currently undertaking, please see the Renewable Energy and Environmental Research Laboratory page.

 

Contact information