Study of Magnetization Switching in Coupled Magnetic Nanostructured Systems

A study of magnetization dynamics experiments in nanostructured materials using the rf susceptibility tunnel diode oscillator (TDO) method is presented along with a extensive theoretical analysis. An original, computer controlled experimental setup that measures the change in susceptibility with the variation in external magnetic field and sample temperature was constructed. The TDO-based experiment design and construction is explained in detail, showing all the elements of originality. This experimental technique has proven reliable for characterizing samples with uncoupled magnetic structure and various magnetic anisotropies like: CrO2 , FeCo/IrMn and Co/SiO2 thin films. The TDO was subsequently used to explore the magnetization switching in coupled magnetic systems, like synthetic antiferromagnet (SAF) structures. Magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) is an important example of devices where the use of SAF structure is essential. To support the understanding of the SAF magnetic behavior, its configuration and application are reviewed and more details are provided in an appendix. Current problems in increasing the scalability and decreasing the error rate of MRAM devices are closely connected to the switching properties of the SAF structures. Several theoretical studies that were devoted to the understanding of the concepts of SAF critical curve are reviewed. As one can notice, there was no experimental determination of SAF critical curve, due to the difficulties in characterizing a magnetic coupled structure. Depending of the coupling strength between the two ferromagnetic layers, on the SAF critical curve one distinguishes several new features, inexistent in the case of uncoupled systems. Knowing the configuration of the SAF critical curve is of great importance in order to control its switching characteristics. For the first time a method of experimentally recording the critical curve for SAF is proposed in this work. In order to overcome technological limitations, a new way of recording the critical curve by using an additional magnetic bias field was explored

A NEW PARADIGM FOR THE RATING MARKET - A GEOPOLITICAL PERSPECTIVE ON RATING

The oligopolistic structure of the global rating market formed by the "Big Three" and doubled by their incapacity to solve problems related to correctly evaluating some of the world's largest economic entities have both set a serious challenge on the rating industry after the onset of the contemporary economic crisis. If both in the E.U. and the U.S. rating agencies are subject to public debate and reform acts, China has defined a particular position by setting up its own rating agency, Dagong Global Credit Rating Co. This article reveals evidence of a geopolitical behavior in a quasi-official domain, which is more a necessity under the current paradigm of the world's economy.

Aberration-free negative-refractive-index lens

The aberrations of a spherical lens composed of left-handed materials are studied in this letter. Five Seidel aberrations (spherical, coma, astigmatism, field curvature, and distortion) as a function of the refractive index n and shape factor q of the lens are considered. Our numerical calculations show that the negative refractive index gives much larger windows of small values of aberrations than the positive index, which will significantly enhance the flexibility for the design of an optical lens. Two possible regions with optimized aberrations are proposed: n = −1, q = −2.2 and n = −0.81 and q = 0.8