535 research outputs found
Confinement and Quantization Effects in Mesoscopic Superconducting Structures
We have studied quantization and confinement effects in nanostructured
superconductors. Three different types of nanostructured samples were
investigated: individual structures (line, loop, dot), 1-dimensional (1D)
clusters of loops and 2D clusters of antidots, and finally large lattices of
antidots. Hereby, a crossover from individual elementary "plaquettes", via
clusters, to huge arrays of these elements, is realized. The main idea of our
study was to vary the boundary conditions for confinement of the
superconducting condensate by taking samples of different topology and, through
that, modifying the lowest Landau level E_LLL(H). Since the critical
temperature versus applied magnetic field T_c(H) is, in fact, E_LLL(H) measured
in temperature units, it is varied as well when the sample topology is changed
through nanostructuring. We demonstrate that in all studied nanostructured
superconductors the shape of the T_c(H) phase boundary is determined by the
confinement topology in a unique way.Comment: 28 pages, 19 EPS figures, uses LaTeX's aipproc.sty, contribution to
Euroschool on "Superconductivity in Networks and Mesoscopic Systems", held in
Siena, Italy (8-20 september 1997
Hall carrier density and magnetoresistance measurements in thin film vanadium dioxide across the metal-insulator transition
Temperature dependent magneto-transport measurements in magnetic fields of up
to 12 Tesla were performed on thin film vanadium dioxide (VO2) across the
metal-insulator transition (MIT). The Hall carrier density increases by 4
orders of magnitude at the MIT and accounts almost entirely for the resistance
change. The Hall mobility varies little across the MIT and remains low,
~0.1cm2/V sec. Electrons are found to be the major carriers on both sides of
the MIT. Small positive magnetoresistance in the semiconducting phase is
measured
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
Development of an oximeter for neurology
Cerebral desaturation can occur during surgery manipulation, whereas otherparameters vary insignificantly. Prolonged intervals of cerebral anoxia can cause seriousdamage to the nervous system. Commonly used method for measurement of cerebral bloodflow uses invasive catheters. Other techniques include single photon emission computedtomography (SPECT), positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging(MRI). Tomographic methods frequently use isotope administration, that may result inanaphylactic reactions to contrast media and associated nerve diseases. Moreover, the high costand the need for continuous monitoring make it difficult to apply these techniques in clinicalpractice. Cerebral oximetry is a method for measuring oxygen saturation using infraredspectrometry. Moreover reflection pulse oximetry can detect sudden changes in sympathetictone. For this purpose the reflectance pulse oximeter for use in neurology is developed.Reflectance oximeter has a definite advantage as it can be used to measure oxygen saturation inany part of the body. Preliminary results indicate that the device has a good resolution and highreliability. Modern applied schematics have improved device characteristics compared withexisting ones
Cathepsin-D in primary breast cancer: prognostic evaluation involving 2810 patients
There is controversy regarding the prognostic value of cathepsin-D in primary breast cancer. An increased level of cathepsin-D in tumour extracts has been found to be associated with a poor relapse-free and overall survival. Studies performed with immunohistochemistry or Western blotting have produced diverse results. We have analysed 2810 cytosolic extracts obtained from human primary breast tumours for cathepsin-D expression, and have correlated their levels with prognosis. The median follow-up of the patients still alive was 88 months. Patients with high cathepsin-D levels had a significantly worse relapse-free and overall survival, also in multivariate analysis (P < 0.0001). Adjuvant therapy which was associated with an improved prognosis in node-positive patients in univariate analysis, also significantly added to the multivariate models for relapse-free and overall survival. There were no statistically significant interactions between the levels of cathepsin-D and any of the classical prognostic factors in analysis for relapse-free survival, suggesting that the prognostic value of cathepsin-D is not different in the various subgroups of patients. Indeed, multivariate analyses in subgroups of node-negative and -positive patients, pre- and post-menopausal patients, and their combinations, showed that tumours with high cathepsin-D values had a significantly poor relapse-free survival, with relative hazard rates ranging from 1.3 to 1.5, compared with tumours with low cathepsin-D levels. The results presented here on 2810 patients confirm that high cytosolic cathepsin-D values are associated with poor prognosis in human primary breast cancer. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig
Flux pinning by regular arrays of ferromagnetic dots
The pinning of flux lines by two different types of regular arrays of
submicron magnetic dots is studied in superconducting Pb films; rectangular Co
dots with in-plane magnetization are used as pinning centers to investigate the
influence of the magnetic stray field of the dots on the pinning phenomena,
whereas multilayered Co/Pt dots with out-of-plane magnetization are used to
study the magnetic interaction between the flux lines and the magnetic moment
of the dots. For both types of pinning arrays, matching anomalies are observed
in the magnetization curves versus perpendicular applied field at integer and
rational multiples of the first matching field, which correspond to stable flux
configurations in the artificially created pinning potential. By varying the
magnetic domain structure of the Co dots with in-plane magnetization, a clear
influence of the stray field of the dots on the pinning efficiency is found.
For the Co/Pt dots with out-of-plane magnetization, a pronounced field
asymmetry is observed in the magnetization curves when the dots are magnetized
in a perpendicular field prior to the measurement. This asymmetry can be
attributed to the interaction of the out-of-plane magnetic moment of the Co/Pt
dots with the local field of the flux lines and indicates that flux pinning is
stronger when the magnetic moment of the dot and the field of the flux line
have the same polarity.Comment: 7 pages including figures; submitted for publication in Physica C
(Proceedings ESF-Vortex Conference, 18-24 Sept. 1999, Crete, Greece
Shapiro steps in a superconducting film with an antidot lattice
Shapiro voltage steps at voltages V_n=nV_0 (n integer) have been observed in
the voltage-current characteristics of a superconducting film with a square
lattice of perforating microholes (antidots)in the presence of radiofrequent
radiation. These equidistant steps appear at the second matching field H_2 when
the flow of the interstitial vortex lattice in the periodic potential created
by the antidots and the vortices trapped by them, is in phase with the applied
rf frequency. Therefore, the observation of Shapiro steps clearly reveals the
presence of mobile intersitial vortices in superconducting films with regular
pinning arrays. The interstitial vortices, moved by the driving current,
coexist with immobile vortices strongly pinned at the antidots.Comment: 6 pages text, 3 EPS figures, RevTeX, accepted for publication in PRB
Rapid Communication
Electrical Characterization of 1.8 MeV Proton-Bombarded ZnO
We report on the electrical characterization of single-crystal ZnO and Au Schottky contacts formed thereon before and after bombarding them with 1.8 MeV protons. From capacitance–voltage measurements, we found that ZnO is remarkably resistant to high-energy proton bombardment and that each incident proton removes about two orders of magnitude less carriers than in GaN. Deep level transient spectroscopy indicates a similar effect: the two electron traps detected are introduced in extremely low rates. One possible interpretation of these results is that the primary radiation-induced defects in ZnO may be unstable at room temperature and anneal out without leaving harmful defects that are responsible for carrier compensation
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