Application of the Hall-probe technique for magnetization measurements of superconductors

A commercial Hall probe (supplied by Lake Shore Cryotronics, Inc.) is used as a sensor of the magnetic field at the surface of a magnetized sample. With the Linear Research resistance bridge LR-400, an excellent stability, linearity of response on field and an extremely small temperature dependence of the background signal is obtained, which is essential for this kind of applications of a Hall probe. At certain conditions, a resolution in field measurements of about 10 mG is reached. Examples of magnetization measurements as a function of temperature, magnetic field and time, performed on high-T/sub c/ and heavy-fermion superconductors, are discussed.<
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