29 research outputs found
Extremely long quasiparticle spin lifetimes in superconducting aluminium using MgO tunnel spin injectors
There has been an intense search in recent years for long-lived
spin-polarized carriers for spintronic and quantum-computing devices. Here we
report that spin polarized quasi-particles in superconducting aluminum layers
have surprisingly long spin-lifetimes, nearly a million times longer than in
their normal state. The lifetime is determined from the suppression of the
aluminum's superconductivity resulting from the accumulation of spin polarized
carriers in the aluminum layer using tunnel spin injectors. A Hanle effect,
observed in the presence of small in-plane orthogonal fields, is shown to be
quantitatively consistent with the presence of long-lived spin polarized
quasi-particles. Our experiments show that the superconducting state can be
significantly modified by small electric currents, much smaller than the
critical current, which is potentially useful for devices involving
superconducting qubits
Partnership, ownership and control: the impact of corporate governance on employment relations
Prevailing patterns of dispersed share ownership and rules of corporate governance for UK listed companies appear to constrain the ability of managers to make credible, long-term commitments to employees of the kind needed to foster effective labour-management partnerships. We present case study evidence which suggests that such partnerships can nevertheless emerge where product market conditions and the regulatory environment favour a stakeholder orientation. Proactive and mature partnerships may also be sustained where the board takes a strategic approach to mediating between the claims of different stakeholder groups, institutional investors are prepared to take a long-term view of their holdings, and strong and independent trade unions are in a position to facilitate organisational change