Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 11, 2026

Fabrication of Uniform Nanoscale Cavities via Silicon Direct Wafer Bonding
Published on: January 9, 2014
Phase diagram of the topological superfluid 3He confined in a nanoscale slab geometry
L V Levitin1, R G Bennett, A Casey
1Department of Physics, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK.
Abstract:
The superfluid phases of helium-3 ((3)He) are predicted to be strongly influenced by mesoscopic confinement. However, mapping out the phase diagram in a confined geometry has been experimentally challenging. We confined a sample of (3)He within a nanofluidic cavity of precisely defined geometry, cooled it, and fingerprinted the order parameter using a sensitive nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer. The measured suppression of the p-wave order parameter arising from surface scattering was consistent with the predictions of quasi-classical theory. Controlled confinement of nanofluidic samples provides a new laboratory for the study of topological superfluids and their surface- and edge-bound excitations.
Related Concept Videos
Phase Diagrams
Phase Diagrams of Ternary Systems
Phase Diagram
Phase Diagram
Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing
Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition

