Methods and Protocols: Practical Magnetic Measurement

Magnetic materials are useful in myriad ways, playing a critical role in modern society. Magnetic measurements, however, serve a much larger purpose than solely characterizing magnetic materials. Information obtained from magnetic measurements is essential across a wide swathe of materials, ranging from topological quantum materials to catalysts and battery materials. As with many advanced characterization and measurement techniques, practical aspects of magnetic measurements requires experience that is not readily gained from textbooks and user manuals. As one example, the nature of the measurement and the interpretation of data can be strongly sample-dependent, and appropriate experimental design is essential to obtain reliable results in an efficient manner. In this “Methods and Protocols” contribution, we seek to demystify magnetic measurements for nonexperts, discussing best practices for a range of different magnetic measurements with illustrative examples.