323 research outputs found
Ratchet Cellular Automata
In this work we propose a ratchet effect which provides a general means of
performing clocked logic operations on discrete particles, such as single
electrons or vortices. The states are propagated through the device by the use
of an applied AC drive. We numerically demonstrate that a complete logic
architecture is realizable using this ratchet. We consider specific
nanostructured superconducting geometries using superconducting materials under
an applied magnetic field, with the positions of the individual vortices in
samples acting as the logic states. These devices can be used as the building
blocks for an alternative microelectronic architecture.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
c-axis Raman Scattering in MgB2: Observation of a Dirty-Limit Gap in the pi-bands
Raman scattering spectra from the ac-face of thick MgB2 single crystals were
measured in zz, xz and xx polarisations. In zz and xz polarisations a threshold
at around 29 cm^{-1} forms in the below Tc continuum but no pair-breaking peak
is seen, in contrast to the sharp pair-breaking peak at around 100 cm^{-1} seen
in xx polarisation. The zz and xz spectra are consistent with Raman scattering
from a dirty superconductor while the sharp peak in the xx spectra argues for a
clean system. Analysis of the spectra resolves this contradiction, placing the
larger and smaller gap magnitudes in the sigma and pi bands, and indicating
that relatively strong impurity scattering is restricted to the pi bands.Comment: Revised manuscript accepted for publication in Physical Review
Letter
Superconductivity at 17 K in Yttrium Metal under Nearly Hydrostatic Pressures to 89 GPa
In an experiment in a diamond anvil cell utilizing helium pressure medium,
yttrium metal displays a superconducting transition temperature which increases
monotonically from Tc ? 3.5 K at 30 GPa to 17 K at 89.3 GPa, one of the highest
transition temperatures for any elemental superconductor. The pressure
dependence of Tc differs substantially from that observed in previous studies
under quasihydrostatic pressure to 30 GPa. Remarkably, the dependence of Tc on
relative volume V/Vo is linear over the entire pressure range above 33 GPa,
implying that higher values of Tc are likely at higher pressures. For the
trivalent metals Sc, Y, La, Lu there appears to be some correlation between Tc
and the ratio of the Wigner-Seitz radius to the ion core radius.Comment: submitted for publicatio
High quality MgB2 thin films in-situ grown by dc magnetron sputtering
Thin films of the recently discovered magnesium diboride (MgB2) intermetalic
superconducting compound have been grown using a magnetron sputtering
deposition technique followed by in-situ annealing at 830 C. High quality films
were obtained on both sapphire and MgO substrates. The best films showed
maximum Tc = 35 K (onset), a transition width of 0.5 K, a residual resistivity
ratio up to 1.6, a low temperature critical current density Jc > 1 MA/cm2 and
anisotropic critical field with gamma = 2.5 close to the values obtained for
single crystals. The preparation technique can be easily scaled to produce
large area in-situ films.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Specific heat of single crystal MgB_2: a two-band superconductor with two different anisotropies
Heat-capacity measurements of a 39 microgramm MgB_2 single crystal in fields
up to 14 T and below 3 K allow the determination of the low-temperature linear
term of the specific heat, its field dependence and its anisotropy. Our results
are compatible with two-band superconductivity, the band carrying the small gap
being isotropic, that carrying the large gap having an anisotropy of ~ 5. Three
different upper critical fields are thus needed to describe the superconducting
state of MgB2.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures - V2: Bibliography updated and some typo
corrected. One reference added - V3: version accepted for publication in PRL,
changes made in the tex
Thin film growth by pulsed laser deposition and properties of 122-type iron-based superconductor AE(Fe1--xCox)2As2 (AE = alkaline earth)
This paper reports comprehensive results on thin-film growth of 122-type
iron-pnictide superconductors, AE(Fe1-xCox)2As2 (AE = Ca, Sr, and Ba,
AEFe2As2:Co) by a pulsed laser deposition method using a neodymium-doped
yttrium aluminum garnet laser as an excitation source. The most critical
parameter to produce the SrFe2As2:Co and BaFe2As2:Co phases is the substrate
temperature (Ts). It is difficult to produce highly-pure CaFe2As2:Co phase thin
film at any Ts. For BaFe2As2:Co epitaxial films, controlling Ts at 800-850
{\deg}C and growth rate to 2.8-3.3 {\AA}/s produced high-quality films with
good crystallinity, flat surfaces, and high critical current densities > 1
MA/cm2, which were obtained for film thicknesses from 100 to 500 nm. The doping
concentration x was optimized for Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2 epitaxial films, leading to
the highest critical temperature of 25.5 K in the epitaxial films with the
nominal x = 0.075.Comment: will be published in the special issue of Superconductor Science and
Technology, `Iron12
Iron oxide-based nanomagnets in nanomedicine: fabrication and applications
Iron oxide-based nanomagnets have attracted a great deal of attention in nanomedicine over the past decade. Down to the nanoscale, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles can only be magnetized in the presence of an external magnetic field, which makes them capable of forming stable colloids in a physio-biological medium. Their superparamagnetic property, together with other intrinsic properties, such as low cytotoxicity, colloidal stability, and bioactive molecule conjugation capability, makes such nanomagnets ideal in both in-vitro and in-vivo biomedical applications. In this review, a chemical, physical, and biological synthetic approach to prepare iron oxide-based nanomagnets with different physicochemical properties was illustrated and compared. The growing interest in iron oxide-based nanomagnets with multifunctionalities was explored in cancer diagnostics and treatment, focusing on their combined roles in a magnetic resonance contrast agent, hyperthermia, and magnetic force assisted drug delivery. Iron oxides as magnetic carriers in gene therapy were reviewed with a focus on the sophisticated design and construction of magnetic vectors. Finally, the iron oxide-based nanomagnet also represents a very promising tool in particle/cell interfacing in controlling cellular functionalities, such as adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, and cell patterning, in stem cell therapy and tissue engineering applications
Finger patterns produced by thermomagnetic instability in superconductors
A linear analysis of thermal diffusion and Maxwell equations is applied to
study the thermomagnetic instability in a type-II superconducting slab. It is
shown that the instability can lead to formation of spatially nonuniform
distributions of magnetic field and temperature. The distributions acquire a
finger structure with fingers perpendicular to the screening current direction.
We derive the criterion for the instability, and estimate its build-up time and
characteristic finger width. The fingering instability emerges when the
background electric field is larger than a threshold field, , and the
applied magnetic field exceeds a value . Numerical
simulations support the analytical results, and allow to follow the development
of the fingering instability beyond the linear regime. The fingering
instability may be responsible for the nucleation of dendritic flux patterns
observed in superconducting films using magneto-optical imaging.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, accepted to Phys. Rev. B; (new version: minor
changes
Correlated enhancement of Hc2 and Jc in carbon nanotube-doped MgB2
The use of MgB2 in superconducting applications still awaits for the
development of a MgB2-based material where both current-carrying performance
and critical magnetic field are optimized simultaneously. We achieved this by
doping MgB2 with double-wall carbon nanotubes (DWCNT) as a source of carbon in
polycrystalline samples. The optimum nominal DWCNT content for increasing the
critical current density, Jc is in the range 2.5-10%at depending on field and
temperature. Record values of the upper critical field, Hc2(4K) = 41.9 T (with
extrapolated Hc2(0) ~ 44.4 T) are reached in a bulk sample with 10%at DWCNT
content. The measured Hc2 vs T in all samples are successfully described using
a theoretical model for a two-gap superconductor in the dirty limit first
proposed by Gurevich et al.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure
Vortex Imaging in the pi-Band of Magnesium Diboride
We report scanning tunneling spectroscopy imaging of the vortex lattice in
single crystalline MgB2. By tunneling parallel to the c-axis, a single
superconducting gap (Delta = 2.2 meV) associated with the pi-band is observed.
The vortices in the pi-band have a large core size compared to estimates based
on Hc2, and show an absence of localized states in the core. Furthermore,
superconductivity between the vortices is rapidly suppressed by an applied
field. These results suggest that superconductivity in the pi-band is, at least
partially, induced by the intrinsically superconducting sigma-band.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
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