Tailoring phase slip events through magnetic doping in superconductor-ferromagnet composite films

The interplay between superconductivity (SC) and ferromagnetism (FM) when embedded together has attracted unprecedented research interest due to very rare coexistence of these two phenomena. The focus has been mainly put into the proximity induced effects like, coexistence of magnetism and superconductivity, higher critical current, triplet superconductivity etc. However, very little attention has been paid experimentally to the role of magnetic constituent on triggering phase slip processes in the composite films (CFs). We demonstrate that less than 1 at. % of magnetic contribution in the CFs can initiate phase slip events efficiently. Due to advanced state-of-the-art fabrication techniques, phase slip based studies have been concentrated mainly on superconducting nanostructures. Here, we employ wide mesoscopic NbGd based CFs to study the phase slip processes. Low temperature current-voltage characteristics (IVCs) of CFs show stair-like features originated through phase slip events and are absent in pure SC films. Depending on the bias current and temperature, distinct regions, dominated by Abrikosov type vortex-antivortex (v-av) pairs and phase slip events, are observed. The results presented here open a new way to study the phase slip mechanism, its interaction with v-av pairs in two dimensions and hence can be useful for future photonic and metrological application

Ultrasensitive interplay between ferromagnetism and superconductivity in NbGd composite thin films

A model binary hybrid system composed of a randomly distributed rare-earth ferromagnetic (Gd) part embedded in an s-wave superconducting (Nb) matrix is being manufactured to study the interplay between competing superconducting and ferromagnetic order parameters. The normal metallic to superconducting phase transition appears to be very sensitive to the magnetic counterpart and the modulation of the superconducing properties follow closely to the Abrikosov-Gorkov (AG) theory of magnetic impurity induced pair breaking mechanism. A critical concentration of Gd is obtained for the studied NbGd based composite films (CFs) above which superconductivity disappears. Besides, a magnetic ordering resembling the paramagnetic Meissner effect (PME) appears in DC magnetization measurements at temperatures close to the superconducting transition temperature. The positive magnetization related to the PME emerges upon doping Nb with Gd. The temperature dependent resistance measurements evolve in a similar fashion with the concentration of Gd as that with an external magnetic field and in both the cases, the transition curves accompany several intermediate features indicating the traces of magnetism originated either from Gd or from the external field. Finally, the signatures of magnetism appear evidently in the magnetization and transport measurements for the CFs with very low (less than 1 at. %) doping of Gd

Anaesthetic management for cleft palate in a child with digeorge syndrome: Look before you leap!

DiGeorge syndrome is a multisystem disorder associated with various cardiac anomalies, aplasia or hypoplasia of thymus and parathyroid glands, palatal defects, immune deficiency, and characteristic facial features. Here, we are reporting the case of a known DiGeorge syndrome posted for the repair of cleft palate in a 3-year-old female child. Anaesthetic management for any surgery in a child with DiGeorge syndrome is challenging for anaesthesiologist in terms of the associated complications. Hence, sound knowledge about DiGeorge syndrome is required for safe anaesthetic management

Severe Oleander Poisoning Presenting with Hyperkalaemia and Unusual Electrocardiographic Changes

Background: Hyperkalaemia in oleander (Nerium oleander) poisoning has been associated with a poor prognosis. Different electrocardiographic (ECG) presentations are possible because of vagotonia and hyperkalaemia. Methods/Results: We report a series of three cases of oleander poisoning in which ECG showed unusual hyperkalaemia features, such as bradyarrhythmia, sinoatrial block, atrioventricular block and junctional rhythm. Conclusions: If arterial blood gas analysis or laboratory values indicate hyperkalaemia in oleander poisoning, the hyperkalaemia should be treated immediately, even if the ECG does not show typical hyperkalaemia features

ssDNA Binding Reveals the Atomic Structure of Graphene

We used AFM to investigate the interaction of polyelectrolytes such as ssDNA and dsDNA molecules with graphene as a substrate. Graphene is an appropriate substrate due to its planarity, relatively large surfaces that are detectable via an optical microscope, and straightforward identification of the number of layers. We observe that in the absence of the screening ions deposited ssDNA will bind only to the graphene and not to the SiO2 substrate, confirming that the binding energy is mainly due to the pi-pi stacking interaction. Furthermore, deposited ssDNA will map the graphene underlying structure. We also quantify the pi-pi stacking interaction by correlating the amount of deposited DNA with the graphene layer thickness. Our findings agree with reported electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) measurements. Finally, we inspected the suitability of using a graphene as a substrate for DNA origami-based nanostructures

Electric Field Control of Spin Transport

Spintronics is an approach to electronics in which the spin of the electrons is exploited to control the electric resistance R of devices. One basic building block is the spin-valve, which is formed if two ferromagnetic electrodes are separated by a thin tunneling barrier. In such devices, R depends on the orientation of the magnetisation of the electrodes. It is usually larger in the antiparallel than in the parallel configuration. The relative difference of R, the so-called magneto-resistance (MR), is then positive. Common devices, such as the giant magneto-resistance sensor used in reading heads of hard disks, are based on this phenomenon. The MR may become anomalous (negative), if the transmission probability of electrons through the device is spin or energy dependent. This offers a route to the realisation of gate-tunable MR devices, because transmission probabilities can readily be tuned in many devices with an electrical gate signal. Such devices have, however, been elusive so far. We report here on a pronounced gate-field controlled MR in devices made from carbon nanotubes with ferromagnetic contacts. Both the amplitude and the sign of the MR are tunable with the gate voltage in a predictable manner. We emphasise that this spin-field effect is not restricted to carbon nanotubes but constitutes a generic effect which can in principle be exploited in all resonant tunneling devices.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figure

An experimental investigation of spin polarized transport in carbon nanotubes

In this Thesis, we report on electrical spin injection measurements on Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes (MWNTs) as well as on Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes (SWNT) . We use a ferromagnetic alloy Pd1−x Nix with x ≈ 0.7 which allows to obtain devices with resistances as low as 5.6 kΩ at 300 K. The yield of device resistances below 100 kΩ, at 300 K, is around 50%. We measure atK a hysteretic magneto-resistance due to the magnetization reversal of the ferromagnetic leads. We present the results of tunnelling magnetoresistance (TMR) measurements in carbon nanotubes as a function of electrical gate voltage. We have used ferromagnetic contacts to inject and detect spins in carbon nanotubes in a spin field-effect transistor geometry. In the linear regime, the sign and the amplitude of the relative difference between the resistance in the antiparallel and the parallel magnetization configurations is tunable with the gate voltage. We attribute this effect to resonant tunneling through the nanotube where the transmission probabilities of up and down spins are modulated differently. In addition to this, we study also the bias-voltage dependence of the TMR in ferromagnetically contacted carbon nanotube (CNT) devices. Experiments performed on PdNi/CNT/PdNi double tunnel junctions show that both positive and negative values of TMR are possible, depending on the applied bias-voltage. We show that the TMR is strongly enhanced by charging energy in Coulomb Blockade (CB) regime. A large negative TMR of up to −33 % is observed atK. We investigate the effect of temperatute on TMR. For both high bias voltage and high temperature TMR reduces remarkably

Ultrasensitive interplay between ferromagnetism and superconductivity in NbGd composite thin films

A model binary hybrid system composed of a randomly distributed rare-earth ferromagnetic (Gd) part embedded in an s-wave superconducting (Nb) matrix is being manufactured to study the interplay between competing superconducting and ferromagnetic order parameters. The normal metallic to superconducting phase transition appears to be very sensitive to the magnetic counterpart and the modulation of the superconducing properties follow closely to the Abrikosov-Gor'kov (AG) theory of magnetic impurity induced pair breaking mechanism. A critical concentration of Gd is obtained for the studied NbGd based composite films (CFs) above which superconductivity disappears. Besides, a magnetic ordering resembling the paramagnetic Meissner effect (PME) appears in DC magnetization measurements at temperatures close to the superconducting transition temperature. The positive magnetization related to the PME emerges upon doping Nb with Gd. The temperature dependent resistance measurements evolve in a similar fashion with the concentration of Gd as that with an external magnetic field and in both the cases, the transition curves accompany several intermediate features indicating the traces of magnetism originated either from Gd or from the external field. Finally, the signatures of magnetism appear evidently in the magnetization and transport measurements for the CFs with very low (<1 at.%) doping of Gd

Extensive subcutaneous emphysema masquerading as anaphylaxis

Road traffic accident is not uncommon in India. Though the chest injury is less common after road traffic accident it may present atypically. Delay in diagnosis of a life threatening chest injury may lead to death. We are reporting a case of extensive subcutaneous emphysema after road traffic accident. The subcutaneous emphysema was due to tension pneumothorax, which was managed in time to save the patient