46 research outputs found
Spin flip scattering in magnetic junctions
Processes which flip the spin of an electron tunneling in a junction made up
of magnetic electrodes are studied. It is found that: i) Magnetic impurities
give a contribution which increases the resistance and lowers the
magnetoresistance, which saturates at low temperatures. The conductance
increases at high fields. ii) Magnon assisted tunneling reduces the
magnetoresistance as , and leads to a non ohmic contribution to the
resistance which goes as , iii) Surface antiferromagnetic magnons,
which may appear if the interface has different magnetic properties from the
bulk, gives rise to and contributions to the magnetoresistance and
resistance, respectively, and, iv) Coulomb blockade effects may enhance the
magnetoresistance, when transport is dominated by cotunneling processes.Comment: 5 page
Spin-accumulation in small ferromagnetic double barrier junctions
The non-equilibrium spin accumulation in ferromagnetic double barrier
junctions is shown to govern the transport in small structures. Transport
properties of such systems are described by a generalization of the theory of
the Coulomb blockade. The spin accumulation enhances the magnetoresistance. The
transient non-linear transport properties are predicted to provide a unique
experimental evidence of the spin-accumulation in the form of a reversed
current on time scales of the order of the spin-flip relaxation time.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to appear in PR
Large Magnetoresistance Ratio in Ferromagnetic Single-Electron Transistors in the Strong Tunneling Regime
We study transport through a ferromagnetic single-electron transistor. The
resistance is represented as a path integral, so that systems where the tunnel
resistances are smaller than the quantum resistance can be investigated. Beyond
the low order sequential tunneling and co-tunneling regimes, a large
magnetoresistance ratio at sufficiently low temperatures is found. In the
opposite limit, when the thermal energy is larger than the charging energy, the
magnetoresistance ratio is only slightly enhanced.Comment: updated versio
Mesoscopic Tunneling Magnetoresistance
We study spin-dependent transport through
ferromagnet/normal-metal/ferromagnet double tunnel junctions in the mesoscopic
Coulomb blockade regime. A general transport equation allows us to calculate
the conductance in the absence or presence of spin-orbit interaction and for
arbitrary orientation of the lead magnetizations. The tunneling
magnetoresistance (TMR), defined at the Coulomb blockade conductance peaks, is
calculated and its probability distribution presented. We show that mesoscopic
fluctuations can lead to the optimal value of the TMR.Comment: 5 pages, 3 eps figures included using epsf.sty. Revised text and
improved notation, fig. 2 removed, explicit equations for the GSE case adde
Crossover from Kondo assisted suppression to co-tunneling enhancement of tunneling magnetoresistance via ferromagnetic nanodots in MgO tunnel barriers
Recently, it has been shown that magnetic tunnel junctions with thin MgO
tunnel barriers exhibit extraordinarily high tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR)
values at room temperature1, 2. However, the physics of spin dependent
tunneling through MgO barriers is only beginning to be unravelled. Using planar
magnetic tunnel junctions in which ultra-thin layers of magnetic metals are
deposited in the middle of a MgO tunnel barrier here we demonstrate that the
TMR is strongly modified when these layers are discontinuous and composed of
small pancake shaped nanodots. At low temperatures, in the Coulomb blockade
regime, for layers less than ~1 nm thick, the conductance of the junction is
increased at low bias consistent with Kondo assisted tunneling. In the same
regime we observe a suppression of the TMR. For slightly thicker layers, and
correspondingly larger nanodots, the TMR is enhanced at low bias, consistent
with co-tunneling.Comment: Nano Letters (in press
The injury epidemiology of cyclists based on a road trauma registry
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bicycle use has increased in some of France's major cities, mainly as a means of transport. Bicycle crashes need to be studied, preferably by type of cycling. Here we conduct a descriptive analysis.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>A road trauma registry has been in use in France since 1996, in a large county around Lyon (the Rhône, population 1.6 million). It covers outpatients, inpatients and fatalities. All injuries are coded using the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS). Proxies were used to identify three types of cycling: learning = children (0-10 years old); sports cycling = teenagers and adults injured outside towns; cycling as means of transport = teenagers and adults injured in towns. The study is based on 13,684 cyclist casualties (1996-2008).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The percentage of cyclists injured in a collision with a motor vehicle was 8% among children, 17% among teenagers and adults injured outside towns, and 31% among those injured in towns. The percentage of serious casualties (MAIS 3+) was 4.5% among children, 10.9% among adults injured outside towns and 7.2% among those injured in towns. Collisions with motor-vehicles lead to more internal injuries than bicycle-only crashes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The description indicates that cyclist type is associated with different crash and injury patterns. In particular, cyclists injured in towns (where cycling is increasing) are generally less severely injured than those injured outside towns for both types of crash (bicycle-only crashes and collisions with a motor vehicle). This is probably due to lower speeds in towns, for both cyclists and motor vehicles.</p
The family as a determinant of stunting in children living in conditions of extreme poverty: a case-control study
BACKGROUND: Malnutrition in children can be a consequence of unfavourable socioeconomic conditions. However, some families maintain adequate nutritional status in their children despite living in poverty. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether family-related factors are determinants of stunting in young Mexican children living in extreme poverty, and whether these factors differ between rural or urban contexts. METHODS: A case-control study was conducted in one rural and one urban extreme poverty level areas in Mexico. Cases comprised stunted children aged between 6 and 23 months. Controls were well-nourished children. Independent variables were defined in five dimensions: family characteristics; family income; household allocation of resources and family organisation; social networks; and child health care. Information was collected from 108 cases and 139 controls in the rural area and from 198 cases and 211 controls in the urban area. Statistical analysis was carried out separately for each area; unconditional multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to obtain the best explanatory model for stunting. RESULTS: In the rural area, a greater risk of stunting was associated with father's occupation as farmer and the presence of family networks for child care. The greatest protective effect was found in children cared for exclusively by their mothers. In the urban area, risk factors for stunting were father with unstable job, presence of small social networks, low rate of attendance to the Well Child Program activities, breast-feeding longer than six months, and two variables within the family characteristics dimension (longer duration of parents' union and migration from rural to urban area). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests the influence of the family on the nutritional status of children under two years of age living in extreme poverty areas. Factors associated with stunting were different in rural and urban communities. Therefore, developing and implementing health programs to tackle malnutrition should take into account such differences that are consequence of the social, economic, and cultural contexts in which the family lives
Extrinsic Magnetotransport Phenomena in Ferromagnetic Oxides
This review is focused on extrinsic magnetotransport effects in ferromagnetic
oxides. It consists of two parts; the second part is devoted to an overview of
experimental data and theoretical models for extrinsic magnetotransport
phenomena. Here a critical discussion of domain-wall scattering is given.
Results on surfacial and interfacial magnetism in oxides are presented.
Spin-polarized tunnelling in ferromagnetic junctions is reviewed and
grain-boundary magnetoresistance is interpreted within a model of
spin-polarized tunnelling through natural oxide barriers. The situation in
ferromagnetic oxides is compared with data and models for conventional
ferromagnets. The first part of the review summarizes basic material
properties, especially data on the spin-polarization and evidence for
half-metallicity. Furthermore, intrinsic conduction mechanisms are discussed.
An outlook on the further development of oxide spin-electronics concludes this
review.Comment: 133 pages, 47 figures, submitted to Rep. Prog. Phy