A low cost PC based card for heat-capacity measurements at low temperatures

Abstract

We describe a simple, low cost pc based card for the measurement of heat capacity using adiabatic calorimetry at low temperatures. This card provides the control pulse to the sample heater as well as trigger pulse to the nano-voltmeter which monitors the sensor voltage (Ge sensor, Lake Shore Inc., USA). We have also added a 12 bit DAC on this card and this is used for remote setting of the heater current of an old SHE (now Biomagnetic, Inc., USA, model CCS) analog constant current source. Although this card is used here for heat-capacity measurements, the same can also be used for thermo-power and thermal-conductivity measurements.