Unconventional domain wall magnetoresistance of patterned Ni/Nb bilayer structures below superconducting transition temperature of Nb

Scattering of spin-up and spin-down electrons while passing through a ferromagnetic domain wall leads to an additional resistance for transport current, usually observed prominently in constricted magnetic structures. In this report, we use the resistance of the domain wall as a probe to find indirect signatures of the theoretically predicted spin-singlet supercurrent to spin-triplet supercurrent conversion effect of ferromagnetic domain walls. Here we examine the domain wall induced resistance in Ni stripe in a bilayer Ni/Nb geometry in the normal state and in the superconducting state of Nb. By making a 6um wide gap in the top Nb layer we routed the transport current through the Ni layer in the normal state and in the superconducting state of Nb. In the normal state of Nb, in-field transport measurements showed a clear domain wall magneto-resistance (DWMR) peak near the coercive field, where the domain wall density is expected to be maximum. Interestingly, however, below the superconducting transition temperature of Nb, the DWMR peak of the Ni layer showed a sharp drop in the field range where the number of domain walls becomes maximum. This observation may be a possible signature of magnetic domain wall induced spin-triplet correlations in the Ni layer due to the direct injection of spin-singlet Cooper pairs from Nb into the magnetic domain walls

Superconducting exchange coupling between ferromagnets.

Recent discoveries from superconductor (S)/ferromagnet (FM) heterostructures include π-junctions, triplet pairing, critical temperature (Tc) control in FM/S/FM superconducting spin valves (SSVs) and critical current control in S/FM/N/FM/S spin valve Josephson junctions (N: normal metal). In all cases, the magnetic state of the device, generally set by the applied field, controls the superconducting response. We report here the observation of the converse effect, that is, direct superconducting control of the magnetic state in GdN/Nb/GdN SSVs. A model for an antiferromagnetic effective exchange interaction based on the coupling of the superconducting condensation energy to the magnetic state can explain the Nb thickness and temperature dependence of this effect. This superconducting exchange interaction is fundamentally different in origin from the various exchange coupling phenomena that underlie conventional spin electronics (spintronics), and provides a mechanism for the active control of the magnetic state in superconducting spintronics.This work was supported by ERC AdG ‘Superspin’ and EPSRC Programme Grant EP/N017242/1.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Nature Publishing Group at http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nmat475

Nano-optical observation of cascade switching in a parallel superconducting nanowire single photon detector

The device physics of parallel-wire superconducting nanowire single photon detectors is based on a cascade process. Using nano-optical techniques and a parallel wire device with spatially-separate pixels we explicitly demonstrate the single- and multi-photon triggering regimes. We develop a model for describing efficiency of a detector operating in the arm-trigger regime. We investigate the timing response of the detector when illuminating a single pixel and two pixels. We see a change in the active area of the detector between the two regimes and find the two-pixel trigger regime to have a faster timing response than the one-pixel regime.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure

Measurement of thin film magnetostriction using field-dependent atomic force microscopy

Measurement of thin film magnetostriction is a challenging task, as magnetostrictive material deformations in parts per million, in conjunction with materials at small dimensions, require high precision, often with dedicated set-ups, for reproducible results. We have developed a novel approach employing a commercial atomic force microscope (AFM) with attached electromagnets. Magnetostriction measurements are demonstrated on 50 - 500 nm thick Fe81Al19 films sputter deposited directly on high aspect ratio commercial AFM micro-cantilevers. A magnetostrictive deflection of the cantilever bimorph translates into a deflection force acting in a contact mode measurement, which is interpreted and recorded as a change in height. For determination of the magnetostriction coefficient, we have developed a modified version of the equation for the magnetostrictive deflection of a cantilever bimorph by Guerrero and Wetherhold, taking into account long-range attractive forces acting during contact mode AFM measurements in air. The sub-atomic precision of the AFM, combined with the widespread availability of all components and the simple set-up, makes the measurement of magnetostriction on films of just a few tens of nanometers thickness easily accessible.H2020-MSCA-ITN-2014 SELECTA (grant agreement no. 642642 of the European Commission

Domain wall induced modulation of low field H-T phase diagram in patterned superconductor-ferromagnet stripes

We present a systematic study of the magnetic domain wall induced modulation of superconducting transition temperature (Tc) in Nb/Ni bilayer stripes. By varying the thickness of the Ni layer from 20 nm to 100 nm we have been able to measure the low field Tc-H phase diagram spanning the N´eel domain wall and Bloch domain wall range of thicknesses. Micromagnetic simulations and magnetic force microscopy measurements confirmed a stronger out-of-plane stray field in the Bloch domain walls compared to the N´eel walls. A suppression in Tc was observed in the magnetization reversal region of the Ni film, the magnitude of which followed linearly to the strength of the out-of-plane stray field due to the domain walls. The magnitude of the stray field was quantified by comparing the Tc of the suppressed region of H-Tc phase diagrams with the unaffected part of the H-Tc curve. With Bloch domain walls a change in Tc of more than 60 mK was observed which is much more compared to the earlier reports. We believe that the narrow stripe geometry of the bilayers and the transverse external field maximized the effect of the domain walls in the Ni layer on the overlying superconducting film, leading to a larger change in Tc. This observation may be useful for domain wall controlled switching devices in superconducting spintronics

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication