Effect of Strain on Room-Temperature Spin Transport in Si₀.₁Ge₀.₉

We report a strain effect on spin transport in semiconductors that exhibit Ge-like conduction bands at room temperature. Using four-terminal nonlocal spin-transport measurements in lateral spin-valve devices, we experimentally estimate the spin diffusion length (λ) of Ge and strained Si₀.₁Ge₀.₉ with two different carrier concentrations. Despite the Ge-like electronic band structure, the obtained λ of a strained Si₀.₁Ge₀.₉ is comparable to that of a Si channel. We discuss a possible mechanism of the strain-induced enhancement of λ at room temperature. As a consequence, we demonstrate the electrical detection of 5-μm lateral spin transport in the strained Si₀.₁Ge₀.₉ by applying an electric field at room temperature.T. Naito, M. Yamada, Y. Wagatsuma, K. Sawano, and K. Hamaya, Effect of Strain on Room-Temperature Spin Transport in Si₀.₁Ge₀.₉, Phys. Rev. Applied, 18, 024005

Significant effect of interfacial spin moments in ferromagnet-semiconductor heterojunctions on spin transport in a semiconductor

Using controlled ferromagnet (FM) -semiconductor (SC) interfaces in SC-based lateral spin-valve (LSV) devices, we experimentally study the effect of interfacial spin moments in FM-SC heterojunctions on spin transport in SC. First-principles calculations predict that the spin moment of FM-SC junctions can be artificially reduced by inserting 3d transition metal V, Cr, or Cu atomic layers between FM and SC. When all-epitaxial FM-SC Schottky-tunnel contacts with a 0.4-0.5-nm-thick V, Cr, or Cu interfacial layer are formed, we find that the spin signals in FM-SC LSV devices are significantly decreased at 8 K. When we increase the interfacial spin moment by inserting an ∼0.3-nm-thick Co layer between FM and SC, the spin signals at 8 K are significantly enhanced again. From these experiments, we conclude that the interfacial spin moments at FM-SC interfaces are one of the important factors to achieve large spin signals even in SC-based spintronic devices.T. Naito, R. Nishimura, M. Yamada, A. Masago, Y. Shiratsuchi, Y. Wagatsuma, K. Sawano, R. Nakatani, T. Oguchi, and K. Hamaya, Significant effect of interfacial spin moments in ferromagnet-semiconductor heterojunctions on spin transport in a semiconductor, Phys. Rev. B 105, 195308

X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectra of Fe-Cr-N films deposited by DC reactive sputtering

The effects of nitrogen flow ratio, target area ratio of Cr, and substrate temperature on the structure of DC reactive sputtered Fe-Cr-N ternary films have been studied. X-ray diffraction measurements show that Fe-Cr-N films consist of alpha-Fe(Cr) and gamma'-(Fe,Cr)(4)N-x (x < 1) phases. The crystal grain of the alpha-Fe(Cr) phase becomes finer and a (200) texture of the gamma'-(Fe,Cr)(4)N-x phase becomes more marked with increasing the nitrogen flow ratio. X-ray photoelectron spectra of the films show that oxidation resistance of Fe-Cr-N films is superior to that of Fe-N films, and oxides are formed only in the film surface due to contacting with the ambient atmosphere and oxygen contamination is very small in the inner parts of these films. (C) 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers

Electronic stress tensor analysis of hydrogenated palladium clusters

We study the chemical bonds of small palladium clusters Pd_n (n=2-9) saturated by hydrogen atoms using electronic stress tensor. Our calculation includes bond orders which are recently proposed based on the stress tensor. It is shown that our bond orders can classify the different types of chemical bonds in those clusters. In particular, we discuss Pd-H bonds associated with the H atoms with high coordination numbers and the difference of H-H bonds in the different Pd clusters from viewpoint of the electronic stress tensor. The notion of "pseudo-spindle structure" is proposed as the region between two atoms where the largest eigenvalue of the electronic stress tensor is negative and corresponding eigenvectors forming a pattern which connects them.Comment: 22 pages, 13 figures, published online, Theoretical Chemistry Account

Abnormal FHIT expression profiles in cervical intraepithelial neoplastic (CIN) lesions

Abnormal fragile histidine triad transcripts were found in 20–30% of CIN2/3 lesions and 11% of normal cervical biopsies by RT–PCR. Bi-allelic loss of the fragile histidine triad gene and the loss of fragile histidine triad protein expression detectable by immunochemical staining with a polyclonal fragile histidine triad specific antibody was rare. The genomic changes showed no association with the presence of human papillomavirus types which carry high risk for cervical cancer (high risk human papillomavirus) as assessed by a type-specific multiplex PCR. The presence of abnormal fragile histidine triad transcripts in a subset of CIN2/3 lesions with no high risk human papillomavirus suggests that this could be an independent risk factor associated with an alternative carcinogenic pathway

Feed-Forward Segmentation of Figure-Ground and Assignment of Border-Ownership

Figure-ground is the segmentation of visual information into objects and their surrounding backgrounds. Two main processes herein are boundary assignment and surface segregation, which rely on the integration of global scene information. Recurrent processing either by intrinsic horizontal connections that connect surrounding neurons or by feedback projections from higher visual areas provide such information, and are considered to be the neural substrate for figure-ground segmentation. On the contrary, a role of feedforward projections in figure-ground segmentation is unknown. To have a better understanding of a role of feedforward connections in figure-ground organization, we constructed a feedforward spiking model using a biologically plausible neuron model. By means of surround inhibition our simple 3-layered model performs figure-ground segmentation and one-sided border-ownership coding. We propose that the visual system uses feed forward suppression for figure-ground segmentation and border-ownership assignment

Feedback Enhances Feedforward Figure-Ground Segmentation by Changing Firing Mode

In the visual cortex, feedback projections are conjectured to be crucial in figure-ground segregation. However, the precise function of feedback herein is unclear. Here we tested a hypothetical model of reentrant feedback. We used a previous developed 2-layered feedforwardspiking network that is able to segregate figure from ground and included feedback connections. Our computer model data show that without feedback, neurons respond with regular low-frequency (∼9 Hz) bursting to a figure-ground stimulus. After including feedback the firing pattern changed into a regular (tonic) spiking pattern. In this state, we found an extra enhancement of figure responses and a further suppression of background responses resulting in a stronger figure-ground signal. Such push-pull effect was confirmed by comparing the figure-ground responses withthe responses to a homogenous texture. We propose that feedback controlsfigure-ground segregation by influencing the neural firing patterns of feedforward projecting neurons