Magnetic property and interlayer segregation in spin valve metal multilayers

The experimental results show that the exchange coupling field of NiFe/FeMn for Ta/ NiFe/FeMn/Ta multilayers is higher than that for the spin valve multilayers Ta/NiFe/Cu/NiFe/FeMn/ Ta. In order to find out the reason, the composition and chemical states at the surfaces of Ta(12nm)/ NiFe(7nm), Ta(12nm)/NiFe(7nm)/Cu(4nm) and Ta(12nm)/NiFe(7nm)/Cu(3nm)/NiFe(5nm) were studied using the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results show that no elements from lower layers float out or segregate to the surface for the first and second samples. However, Cu atoms segregate to the surface of Ta(12nm)/NiFe(7nm)/Cu(3nm)/NiFe(5nm) multilayers, i.e. Cu atoms segregate to the NiFe/FeMn interface for Ta/NiFe/Cu/NiFe/FeMn/Ta multilayers. We believe that the presence of Cu atoms at the interface of NiFe/FeMn is one of the important factors causing the exchange coupling field of Ta/NiFe/FeMn/Ta multilayers to be higher than that of Ta/NiFe/Cu/NiFe/ FeMn/Ta multilayers.

Interlayer segregation of Cu atoms in Ta/NiFe/Cu/NiFe/FeMn/Ta spin-valve multilayers and its influence on magnetic properties

Experimental results show that the exchange coupling field (H-ex) of NiFe/FeMn for Ta/NiFe/FeMn/Ta multilayers is higher than that for spin-valve multilayers Ta/NiFe/Cu/NiFe/FeMn/Ta. In order to find out the reason, the composition and chemical states at the surface of Ta(12 nm)/NiFe(7 nm), Ta(12 nm)/NiFe(7 nm)/Cu(4 nm), and Ta(12 nm)/NiFe(7 nm)/Cu(3 nm)/NiFe(5 nm) were studied using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results show that no elements from lower layers float out or segregate to the surface in the first and second samples. However, Cu atoms segregate to the surface of Ta(12 nm)/NiFe(7 nm)/Cu(3 nm)/NiFe(5 nm) multilayers, i.e., Cu atoms segregate to the NiFe/FeMn interface for Ta/NiFe/Cu/NiFe/FeMn/Ta multilayers. We believe that the presence of Cu atoms at the interface of NiFe/FeMn is one of the important factors which causes the exchange coupling field (H-ex) of Ta/NiFe/Cu/NiFe/FeMn/Ta to be weaker than that of Ta/NiFe/FeMn/Ta. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.

Experimental measurement of microwave-induced electron spin-flip time

The electron spin resonance (ESR) is optically detected by monitoring the microwave-induced changes in the circular polarization of the neutral exciton (X) and the negatively charged exciton (X-) emission in CdTe quantum wells with low density of excess electrons. We find that the circular polarization of the X and X- emission is a mapping of the spin polarization of excess electrons. By analyzing the ESR-induced decrease in the circular polarization degree of the X emission, we deduce the microwave-induced electron spin-flip time >0.1 mus, which is much longer than the recombination time of X and X-. This demonstrates that the optically detected ESR in type I quantum wells with low density of excess electrons does not obey the prerequisite for the conventional optically detected magnetic resonance. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Blocking of the polaron effect and spin-split cyclotron resonance in a two-dimensional electron gas

Cyclotron resonance (CR) of high density GaAs quantum wells exhibits well-resolved spin splitting above the LO-phonon frequency. The spin-up and spin-down CR frequencies are reversed relative to the order expected from simple band nonparabolicity. We demonstrate that this is a consequence of the blocking of the polaron interaction which is a sensitive function of the filling of the Landau levels.

Crystallographic and magnetic properties of R3Fe29-xVxN4 (R = Y, Ce, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, and Dy)

A systematic investigation of crystallographic and magnetic properties of nitride R3Fe29-xVxN4 (R = Y, Ce, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, and Dy) has been performed. Nitrogenation leads to a relative volume expansion of about 6%. The lattice constants and unit cell volume decrease with increasing rare-earth atomic number from Nd to Dy, reflecting the lanthanide contraction. On average, the Curie temperature increases due to the nitrogenation to about 200 K compared with its parent compound. Generally speaking, nitrogenation also results in a remarkable improvement of the saturation magnetization and anisotropy fields at 4.2 K and room temperature for R3Fe29-xVxN4 compared with their parent compounds. The transition temperature indicates the spin reorientations of R3Fe29-xVxN4 for R = Nd and Sm are at around 375 and 370 K which are higher than that of R3Fe29-xVx, for R = Nd and Sm 145 and 140 K, respectively. The magnetohistory effects of R3Fe29-xVxN4 (R = Ce, Nd, and Sm) are observed in low fields of 0.04 T. After nitrogenation the easy magnetization direction of Sm3Fe26.7V2.3 is changed from an easy-cone structure to the b-axis. As a preliminary result, a maximum remanence B-r of 0.94 T, an intrinsic coercivity mu(0)H(C) of 0.75 T, and a maximum energy product (B H)(max) of 108.5 kJ m(-3) for the nitride magnet Sm3Fe26.7V2.3N4 are achieved by ball-milling at 293 K.

Anomalous shift of the beating nodes in illumination-controlled In1-xGaxAs/In1-yAlyAs two-dimensional electron gases with strong spin-orbit interaction

The beating patterns in the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillatory magnetoresistance originating from zero-field spin splitting of two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) in In0.52Al0.48As/InxGa1-xAs/In0.52Al0.48As quantum wells with silicon delta doped on the upper barrier layer have been investigated by means of magnetotransport measurements before and after illumination. Contrary to the expectation, after each illumination, the beating nodes induced by the zero-field spin-splitting effect shift to lower and lower magnetic field due to the decrease in the zero-field spin-splitting energy of the 2DEGs. The anomalous phenomenon of the shift of the beating nodes and the decrease in spin-orbit coupling constants after illumination cannot be explained by utilizing the previous linear Rashba model. It is suggested that the decrease in the zero-field spin-splitting energy and the spin-orbit coupling constant arise from the nonlinear Rashba spin splitting.

Photoexcited charge current for the presence of pure spin current

The asymmetric spin distribution in k space caused by the pure spin current (PSC) can introduce a photoexcited charge current (PECC). This provides us a practical scheme for direct detection of PSC. We demonstrate theoretically that the PECC related to the PSC depends sensitively on the wave vector and spin orientation of the carriers, more important, the helicity dependence of this PECC provides us a way to refine it from the helicity independent background current by tuning the polarized laser beams from left to right circular polarization.

Phonon-limited mobility in two-dimensional semiconductors with spin-orbit coupling

The authors demonstrate that the Rashba spin-orbit interaction in low-dimensional semiconductors can enhance or reduce the electron-phonon scattering rate by as much as 25%. The underlying mechanism is that the electron-phonon scattering phase space for the upper (lower) Rashba band is significantly enhanced (suppressed) by the spin-orbit interaction. While the scattering time decreases for the upper level, the mobility of the level increases due to an additional term in the electron velocity. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Waterborne exposure to PFOS causes disruption of the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis in zebrafish larvae

Thyroid hormones (THs) play an important role in the normal development and physiological functions in fish. Environmental chemicals may adversely affect thyroid function by disturbing gene transcription. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), a persistent compound, is widely distributed in the aquatic environment and wildlife. In the present study, we investigated whether PFOS could disrupt the hypothalamic– pituitary–thyroid (HPT) axis. Zebrafish embryos were exposed to various concentrations of PFOS (0, 100, 200 and 400 lg L 1) and gene expression patterns were examined 15 d post-fertilization. The expression of several genes in the HPT system, i.e., corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), sodium/iodide symporter (NIS), thyroglobulin (TG), thyroid peroxidase (TPO), transthyretin (TTR), iodothyronine deiodinases (Dio1 and Dio2) and thyroid receptor (TRa and TRb), was quantitatively measured using real-time PCR. The gene expression levels of CRF and TSH were significantly up-regulated and down-regulated, respectively, upon exposure to 200 and 400 lg L 1 PFOS. A significant increase in NIS and Dio1 gene expression was observed at 200 lg L 1 PFOS exposure, while TG gene expression was down-regulated at 200 and 400 lg L 1 PFOS exposure. TTR gene expression was down-regulated in a concentration-dependent manner. Up-regulation and down-regulation of TRa and TRb gene expression, respectively, was observed upon exposure to PFOS. The whole body thyroxine (T4) content remained unchanged, whereas triiodothyronine (T3) levels were significantly increased, which could directly reflect disrupted thyroid hormone status after PFOS exposure. The overall results indicated that PFOS exposure could alter gene expression in the HPT axis and that mechanisms of disruption of thyroid status by PFOS could occur at several steps in the synthesis, regulation, and action of thyroid hormones.

EXCIMER-LASER DOPING OF SPIN-ON DOPANT IN SILICON

Solid films containing phosphorus impurities were formed on p-type silicon wafer surface by traditional spin-on of commercially available dopants. The doping process is accomplished by irradiating the sample with a 308 nm XeCl pulsed excimer laser. Shallow junctions with a high concentration of doped impurities were obtained. The measured impurity profile was ''box-like'', and is very suitable for use in VLSI devices. The characteristics of the doping profile against laser fluence (energy density) and number of laser pulses were studied. From these results, it is found that the sheet resistance decreases with the laser fluence above a certain threshold, but it saturates as the energy density is further increased. The junction depth increases with the number of pulses and the laser energy density. The results suggest that this simple spin-on dopant pre-deposition technique can be used to obtain a well controlled doping profile similar to the technique using chemical vapor in pulsed laser doping process.

Effect of a step quantum well structure and an electric-field on the Rashba spin splitting

Spin splitting of conduction subbands in Al_(0.3)Ga_(0.7)As/GaAs/Al_xGa_(1-x)As/Al_(0.3)Ga_(0.7)As step quantum wells induced by interface and electric field related Rashba effects is investigated theoretically by the method of finite difference. The dependence of the spin splitting on the electric field and the well structure, which is controlled by the well width and the step width, is investigated in detail. Without an external electric field, the spin splitting is induced by an in terface related Rashba term due to the built-in structure inversion asymmetry. Applying the external electric field to the step QW, the Rashba effect can be enhanced or weakened, depending on the well structure as well as the direction and the magnitude of the electric field. The spin splitting is mainly controlled by the interface related Rashba term under a negative and a stronger positive electric field, and the contribution of the electric field related Rashba term dominates in a small range of a weaker positive electric field.A method to determine the interface parameter is proposed.The results show that the step QWs might be used as spin switches.

Spin split cyclotron resonance in GaAs quantum wells

The cyclotron resonance (CR) of electrons in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells is investigated theoretically to explain a recent CR experiment, where two CR peaks were observed at high magnetic fields when both spin-up and spin-down states of the lowest Landau level are occupied. Our theoretical model takes into account the conduction band non-parabolicity, the electron bulk longitude-optic-phonon coupling, and the self-consistent subband structure. A good agreement is found.