5,515 research outputs found
Alignment procedure of the LHCb Vertex Detector
LHCb is one of the four main experiments of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)
project, which will start at CERN in 2008. The experiment is primarily
dedicated to B-Physics and hence requires precise vertex reconstruction. The
silicon vertex locator (VELO) has a single hit precision of better than 10
micron and is used both off-line and in the trigger. These requirements place
strict constraints on its alignment. Additional challenges for the alignment
arise from the detector being retracted between each fill of the LHC and from
its unique circular disc r/phi strip geometry. This paper describes the track
based software alignment procedure developed for the VELO. The procedure is
primarily based on a non-iterative method using a matrix inversion technique.
The procedure is demonstrated with simulated events to be fast, robust and to
achieve a suitable alignment precision.Comment: accepted for publication in NIM
LHCb VELO software alignment, Part III: the alignment of the relative sensor positions
The LHCb Vertex Locator contains 42 silicon sensor modules. Each module has
two silicon sensors. A method for determining the relative alignment of the
silicon sensors within each module from data is presented. The software
implementation details are discussed. Monte-Carlo simulation studies are
described that demonstrate an alignment precision of 1.3 micron is obtained in
the sensor plane
LHCb VELO software alignment - PART II: the alignment of the VELO detector-halves
The software alignment of the Vertex Locator (VELO) is a critical component of the LHCb alignment strategy. This note demonstrates a potential algorithm to perform the alignment of the VELO detector-halves. The approach described in this document, and the tools developed, are also applicable to the alignment of the other LHCb sub-systems and the global relative alignment of the sub-detectors
Light controlled magnetoresistance and magnetic field controlled photoresistance in CoFe film deposited on BiFeO3
We present a magnetoresistive-photoresistive device based on the interaction
of a piezomagnetic CoFe thin film with a photostrictive BiFeO3 substrate that
undergoes light-induced strain. The magnitude of the resistance and
magnetoresistance in the CoFe film can be controlled by the wavelength of the
incident light on the BiFeO3. Moreover, a light-induced decrease in anisotropic
magnetoresistance is detected due to an additional magnetoelastic contribution
to magnetic anisotropy of the CoFe film. This effect may find applications in
photo-sensing systems, wavelength detectors and can possibly open a research
development in light-controlled magnetic switching properties for next
generation magnetoresistive memory devices.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, journal pape
Giant Anisotropic Magneto-Resistance in ferromagnetic atomic contacts
Magneto-resistance is a physical effect of great fundamental and industrial
interest since it is the basis for the magnetic field sensors used in computer
read-heads and Magnetic Random Access Memories. As device dimensions are
reduced, some important physical length scales for magnetism and electrical
transport will soon be attained. Ultimately, there is a strong need to know if
the physical phenomena responsible for magneto-resistance still hold at the
atomic scale. Here, we show that the anisotropy of magneto-resistance is
greatly enhanced in atomic size constrictions. We explain this physical effect
by a change in the electronic density of states in the junction when the
magnetization is rotated, as supported by our ab-initio calculations. This
stems from the "spin-orbit coupling" mechanism linking the shape of the
orbitals with the spin direction. This sensitively affects the conductance of
atomic contacts which is determined by the overlap of the valence orbitals.Comment: latex AAMR.tex, 6 files, 5 figures, 4 pages
(http://www-drecam.cea.fr/spec/articles/S06/011
Photovoltaic response around a unique180° ferroelectric domain wall in single crystalline BiFeO3
Using an experimental setup designed to scan a submicron sized light spot and collect the photogenerated current through larger electrodes, we map the photovoltaic response in ferroelectric BiFeO3 single crystals. We study the effect produced by a unique 180° ferroelectric domain wall (DW) and show that the photocurrent maps are significantly affected by its presence and shape. The effect is large in its vicinity and in the Schottky barriers at the interface with the Au electrodes, but no extra photocurrent is observed when the illuminating spot touches the DW, indicating that this particular entity is not the heart of specific photo-electric properties. Using 3D modelling, we argue that the measured effect is due to the spatial distribution of internal fields which are significantly affected by the charge of the DW due to its distortion
Voltage and temperature dependence of the grain boundary tunneling magnetoresistance in manganites
We have performed a systematic analysis of the voltage and temperature
dependence of the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) of grain boundaries (GB) in
the manganites. We find a strong decrease of the TMR with increasing voltage
and temperature. The decrease of the TMR with increasing voltage scales with an
increase of the inelastic tunneling current due to multi-step inelastic
tunneling via localized defect states in the tunneling barrier. This behavior
can be described within a three-current model for magnetic tunnel junctions
that extends the two-current Julliere model by adding an inelastic,
spin-independent tunneling contribution. Our analysis gives strong evidence
that the observed drastic decrease of the GB-TMR in manganites is caused by an
imperfect tunneling barrier.Comment: to be published in Europhys. Lett., 8 pages, 4 figures (included
Terahertz wave generation via optical rectification from multiferroic BiFeO3
We detected broadband coherent terahertz (THz) emission from multiferroic
BiFeO3 after illuminating a high-quality bulk single ferroelectric domain
crystal with a ~100 fs optical pulse. The dependence of the emitted THz
waveform on the energy and polarization of the optical pulse is consistent with
the optical rectification mechanism of THz emission. The THz emission provides
a sensitive probe of the electric polarization state of BiFeO3, enabling
applications in ferroelectric memories and ferroelectric domain imaging. We
also report room-temperature THz optical constants of BiFeO3.Comment: accepted for publication in Applied Physics Letter
Interplay of structure and spin-orbit strength in magnetism of metal-benzene sandwiches: from single molecules to infinite wires
Based on first-principles density functional theory calculations we explore
electronic and magnetic properties of experimentally producible sandwiches and
infinite wires made of repeating benzene molecules and transition-metal atoms
of V, Nb, and Ta. We describe the bonding mechanism in the molecules and in
particular concentrate on the origin of magnetism in these structures. We find
that all the considered systems have sizable magnetic moments and ferromagnetic
spin-ordering, with the single exception of the V3-Bz4 molecule. By including
the spin-orbit coupling into our calculations we determine the easy and hard
axes of the magnetic moment, the strength of the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy
energy (MAE), relevant for the thermal stability of magnetic orientation, and
the change of the electronic structure with respect to the direction of the
magnetic moment, important for spin-transport properties. While for the V-based
compounds the values of the MAE are only of the order of 0.05-0.5 meV per metal
atom, increasing the spin-orbit strength by substituting V with heavier Nb and
Ta allows to achieve an increase in anisotropy values by one to two orders of
magnitude. The rigid stability of magnetism in these compounds together with
the strong ferromagnetic ordering makes them attractive candidates for
spin-polarized transport applications. For a Nb-benzene infinite wire the
occurrence of ballistic anisotropic magnetoresistance is demonstrated.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figure
- …