Design criteria and performance parameters of an alpha irradiation device for cell studies

An alpha irradiation device is described that utilises a commercially available disc-shaped americium-241 source of 8 cm diameter. The alpha particles traverse a moving collimator and the source is rotated to reduce the influence of source inhomogeneities. Source, collimator and a shutter disc are mounted in a container which is flushed with helium to reduce energy losses of the alpha particles before reaching the exit foil. The shutter disc is activated by a computer-controlled step motor. The broad beam of alpha particles emerges from the exit window of the container with a remaining range in tissue of about 15 mu m. An intermittent computer-controlled use of a preabsorber makes it possible to reduce dose differences within a depth up to 12.5 mu m to not more than +or-3%. With the commercially available americium sources a dose rate of 0.2 Gy min-1 is reached; this can be increased by utilising a somewhat wider collimator

Ferromagnetic/superconducting bilayer structure: A model system for spin diffusion length estimation

We report detailed studies on ferromagnet--superconductor bilayer structures. Epitaxial bilayer structures of half metal--colossal magnetoresistive La$_{\mathrm{2/3}}$Ca$_{\mathrm{1/3}}$MnO$_{\mathrm{3}}$ (HM--CMR) and high--$T_{\mathrm{c}}$ superconducting YBa$_{\mathrm{2}}$Cu$_{\mathrm{3}}$O$_{\mathrm{7-\delta}}$(HTSC) are grown on SrTiO$_3$ (100) single--crystalline substrates using pulsed laser deposition. Magnetization $M$(T) measurements show the coexistence of ferromagnetism and superconductivity in these structures at low temperatures. Using the HM--CMR layer as an electrode for spin polarized electrons, we discuss the role of spin polarized self injection into the HTSC layer. The experimental results are in good agreement with a presented theoretical estimation, where the spin diffusion length $\xi_{\mathrm {FM}}$ is found to be in the range of $\xi_{\mathrm{FM}} \approx$ 10 nm.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.