A vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM) (also referred to as a Foner magnetometer) is a scientific instrument that measures magnetic properties based on Faraday’s Law of Induction. Simon Foner at

MIT Lincoln Laboratory The MIT Lincoln Laboratory, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a United States Department of Defense federally funded research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. Research and d ...

invented VSM in 1955 and reported it in 1959. Also it was mentioned by G.W. Van Oosterhout and by P.J Flanders in 1956. A sample is first placed in a constant magnetic field and if the sample is magnetic it will align its magnetization with the external field. The

magnetic dipole moment In electromagnetism, the magnetic moment is the magnetic strength and orientation of a magnet or other object that produces a magnetic field. Examples of objects that have magnetic moments include loops of electric current (such as electromagnets ...

of the sample creates a magnetic field that changes as a function of time as the sample is moved up and down. This is typically done through the use of a

piezoelectric Piezoelectricity (, ) is the electric charge that accumulates in certain solid materials—such as crystals, certain ceramics, and biological matter such as bone, DNA, and various proteins—in response to applied mechanical stress. The word ' ...

material. The alternating magnetic field induces an electric field in the pickup coils of the VSM. The current is proportional to the magnetization of the sample - the greater the induced current, the greater the magnetization. As a result, typically a hysteresis curve will be recorded and from there the magnetic properties of the sample can be deduced. The idea of vibrating sample came from D. O. Smith's vibrating-coil

magnetometer A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, o ...

Typical VSM overview

Parts of a typical VSM setup

* Actively cooled electromagnet/power supply * Amplifier * Control Chassis * Meter * Computer interface * Sensor coils * Vibration exciter with sample holder * Hall probe (optional)

Sample Operating Procedure:

# Mounting the sample in the sample holder # Turning on the VSM system # Run the comput