A low-temperature high-sensitivity torsion balance magnetometer with in situ stator adjustment

Torsion balance magnetometry can be used as a versatile probe of two-dimensional electron systems. We have developed a highly sensitive magnetometer, utilizing capacitive proximity detection of the rotor position, for use at temperatures below 10 mK. The instrument incorporates two piezo-electric linear motors to enable the stator positions to be adjusted in situ at base temperature. The magnetometer responsivity is inversely proportional to the square of the rotor-stator separation and the novel linear motor technique, accompanied by effective vibration isolation and optimized capacitance bridge electronics, achieves a resolution 6.5x10(-12) N m Hz(-1/2). This resolution, together with the low temperatures attainable, allows for experiments that probe the family of quantum fluid states responsible for the fractional quantum Hall effect, even at filling factors greater than one. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.