177 research outputs found
Current-perpendicular-to-plane giant magnetoresistance of a spin valve using Co2MnSi Heusler alloy electrodes
We report the current-perpendicular-to-plane giant magnetoresistance of a
spin valve with Co2MnSi (CMS) Heusler alloy ferromagnetic electrodes. A
multilayer stack of Cr/Ag/Cr/CMS/Cu/CMS/Fe25Co75/Ir28Mn72/Ru was deposited on a
MgO (001) single crystal substrate. The bottom CMS layer was epitaxially grown
on the Cr/Ag/Cr buffer layers and was ordered to the L21 structure after
annealing at 673 K. The upper CMS layer was found to grow epitaxially on the Cu
spacer layer despite the large lattice mismatch between Cu and CMS. The highest
MR ratios of 8.6% and 30.7% for CPP-GMR were recorded at room temperature and 6
K, respectively. The high spin polarization of the epitaxial CMS layers is the
most likely origin of the high MR ratio.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, presented at the 53rd Annual Conference on
Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, to be published in J. Appl. Phy
Growth, strain, and spin-orbit torques in epitaxial Ni-Mn-Sb films sputtered on GaAs
We report current-induced spin torques in epitaxial NiMnSb films on a commercially available epiready GaAs substrate. The NiMnSb was grown by cosputtering from three targets using optimized parameters. The films were processed into microscale bars to perform current-induced spin-torque measurements. Magnetic dynamics were excited by microwave currents, and electric voltages along the bars were measured to analyze the symmetry of the current-induced torques. We found that the extracted symmetry of the spin torques matches those expected from spin-orbit interaction in a tetragonally distorted half-Heusler crystal. Both fieldlike and dampinglike torques are observed in all the samples characterized, and the efficiency of the current-induced torques is comparable to that of ferromagnetic metal/heavy-metal bilayers
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
Analysis of the IDS Gene in 38 Patients with Hunter Syndrome: The c.879G>A (p.Gln293Gln) Synonymous Variation in a Female Create Exonic Splicing
BACKGROUND: Hunter syndrome (mucopolysaccharidosis type II, MPS II) is a rare disease inherited in an X-linked autosomal recessive pattern. It is the prevailing form of the mucopolysaccharidoses in China. Here we investigated mutations of IDS (iduronate 2-sulfatase) gene in 38 unrelated Chinese patients, one of which is a female. METHODS: Peripheral leucocytes were collected from the patients and the IDS gene was amplified to looking for the variations. For a female patient, the X chromosome status was analyzed by androgen receptor X-inactivation assay and the mutation impact on RNA level was further performed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: We discovered that point mutations constituted the major form while mutations in codon p.R468 defined the largest number of patients in our cohort. Consistent with data from other ethnic groups, exons 9 and 3 had comparatively more mutations, while exon 2 had quite a few mutations unique to Chinese patients. Of the 30 different mutations identified, only 9 were novel: one was a premature termination mutation, i.e., c.196C>T (p.Gln66X); three were missense mutations, i.e., c.200T>C (p.Leu67Pro), c.215T>C (p.Leu72Pro), c.389C>T (p.Thr130Ile); one was a small deletion, i.e., c.1104_1122del19 (p.Ser369ArgfsX16); and one was a deletion that spanned both exons 8 and 9 deletion leading to gross structural changes in the IDS gene. In addition, a synonymous mutation c.879G>A (p.Gln293Gln) was identified in a female Hunter disease patient, which resulted in loss of the original splicing site, activated a cryptic splicing site upstream, leading to a 28 bp deletion and a premature termination at p. Tyr285GlufsX47. Together with concurrent skewed X-inactivation this was believed to facilitate the development of Hunter disease in this girl. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the molecular analysis of IDS gene in Chinese patients confirmed the Hunter disease diagnosis and expanded the mutation and clinical spectrum of this devastating disorder
Measurement and comparison of individual external doses of high-school students living in Japan, France, Poland and Belarus -- the "D-shuttle" project --
Twelve high schools in Japan (of which six are in Fukushima Prefecture), four
in France, eight in Poland and two in Belarus cooperated in the measurement and
comparison of individual external doses in 2014. In total 216 high-school
students and teachers participated in the study. Each participant wore an
electronic personal dosimeter "D-shuttle" for two weeks, and kept a journal of
his/her whereabouts and activities. The distributions of annual external doses
estimated for each region overlap with each other, demonstrating that the
personal external individual doses in locations where residence is currently
allowed in Fukushima Prefecture and in Belarus are well within the range of
estimated annual doses due to the background radiation level of other
regions/countries
Magnetic dichroism in angular-resolved hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy from buried layers
This work reports the measurement of magnetic dichroism in angular-resolved
photoemission from in-plane magnetized buried thin films. The high bulk
sensitivity of hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) in combination
with circularly polarized radiation enables the investigation of the magnetic
properties of buried layers. HAXPES experiments with an excitation energy of 8
keV were performed on exchange-biased magnetic layers covered by thin oxide
films. Two types of structures were investigated with the IrMn exchange-biasing
layer either above or below the ferromagnetic layer: one with a CoFe layer on
top and another with a CoFeAl layer buried beneath the IrMn layer. A
pronounced magnetic dichroism is found in the Co and Fe states of both
materials. The localization of the magnetic moments at the Fe site conditioning
the peculiar characteristics of the CoFeAl Heusler compound, predicted to
be a half-metallic ferromagnet, is revealed from the magnetic dichroism
detected in the Fe states
Conceptual design of a collimator for the neutron emission profile monitor in JT-60SA using Monte Carlo simulations
Materials and structures of a collimator for a new neutron emission profile monitor in JT-60SA are examined through Monte Carlo simulations using the Monte Carlo N-Particle transport code. First, the shielding properties of various material combinations are compared in order to determine a combination with high shielding performances against both neutrons and gamma-rays. It is found that a collimator consisting of borated polyethylene and lead has a high shielding performance against neutrons. Moreover, a high shielding performance against gamma-rays is obtained when a lead pipe with a radial thickness of 0.01 m is inserted into a collimation tube. Second, we demonstrate that it is possible to improve the spatial resolution to a desired level by installing a thin tubular extension structure that fits into the limited space available between the main collimator block and the tokamak device. Finally, the collimator structures that meet both the targeted spatial resolutions (<10% of the plasma minor radius) and the targeted counting rate (105 cps order) are discussed
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