Standard methods for heat capacity measurements on a Quantum Design Physical Property Measurement System

Abstract

The commercial availability of the Physical Property Measurement System (PPMS) by Quantum Design has significantly increased access to heat capacity measurements on a wide variety of materials. Although the PPMS can routinely measure the heat capacities of thermally conducting materials with high accuracy, specialized sample mounting techniques must be used for insulating powders, and the analysis of first order transitions also requires non-standard methods. The concern is that many users are not aware of these constraints when measuring the heat capacity of a diverse array of materials, and therefore, the heat capacity data reported in the literature can be unreliable. In this paper, we provide an extensive and critical review of the heat capacity data reported in the literature measured using the Quantum Design PPMS. The purpose is to provide a de facto standard for sample mounting and data analysis methods suitable for the reporting of accurate thermodynamic data.