Tunable quantum tunnelling of magnetic domain walls

Perhaps the most anticipated, yet experimentally elusive, macroscopic quantum phenomenon is spin tunnelling in a ferromagnet, which may be formulated in terms of domain wall tunnelling. One approach to identifying such a process is to focus on mesoscopic systems where the number of domain walls is finite and the motion of a single wall has measurable consequences. Research of this type includes magnetotransport measurements on thin ferromagnetic wires, and magnetization experiments on single particles, nanomagnet ensembles and rare-earth multilayers. A second method is to investigate macroscopic disordered ferromagnets, whose dynamics are dominated by domain wall motion, and search the associated relaxation-time distribution functions for the signature of quantum effects. But whereas the classical, thermal processes that operate in these experiments are easily regulated via temperature, the quantum processes have so far not been tunable, making difficult a definitive interpretation of the results in terms of tunnelling. Here we describe a disordered magnetic system for which it is possible to adjust the quantum tunnelling probabilities. For this material, we can model both the classical, thermally activated response at high temperatures and the athermal, tunnelling behaviour at low temperatures within a unified framework, where the domain wall is described as a particle with a fixed mass. We show that it is possible to tune the quantum tunnelling processes by adjusting the 'mass' of this particle with an external magnetic field.     

Measurement of femtometre-scale atomic displacements by X-ray absorption spectroscopy

The frequencies of extended X-ray absorption fine-structure (EXAFS) measurements, which are oscillations occurring on the high-energy side of an X-ray absorption edge, can be used to identify interatomic distances in materials. We have used a dispersive X-ray spectrometer, which has no moving components, to make rapid measurements with minimal energy drift of the difference in EXAFS from the Fe K edge in an iron-cobalt thin film undergoing periodic strain through magnetostriction. We show that magnetostriction can be detected by differential X-ray absorption. The magnitude of the recorded signal relative to the noise shows a sensitivity to mean differential atomic motion of one femtometre: a factor of 100 times more sensitive than that normally available.     

Origin of ferromagnetic exchange interactions in a fullerene-organic compound

Organic ferromagnets, which exhibit exchange interactions between unpaired electrons in pi-orbitals, are rare, and the origin of ferromagnetism in these compounds has so far remained unexplained. Tetrakis(dimethylamino)ethylene-fullerene[60] (TDAE-C60) shows a transition to a ferromagnetic state with fully saturated s = 1/2 molecular spins at the relatively high Curie temperature (for organic materials) of 16 K (ref. 4). It has been suggested that the orientations of the C60 molecules may be important for ferromagnetism in this material, but in the absence of structural data at low temperatures there has been little progress towards understanding these microscopic interactions. Here we report the results of a comparative structural study of two different magnetic forms of TDAE-C60 crystals at low temperatures, correlating the structural properties--in particular, the intermolecular orientations--with the magnetic properties. We find that both ferromagnetism and spin-glass-like ordering are possible in this material, and depend on the orientational state of C60 molecules. This resolves the apparent contradictions posed by different macroscopic measurements, and opens the way to a microscopic understanding of pi-electron ferromagnetic exchange interactions in organic materials.     

Electrical effects of spin density wave quantization and magnetic domain walls in chromium

The role of magnetic domains (and the walls between domains) in determining the electrical properties of ferromagnetic materials has been investigated in great detail for many years, not least because control over domains offers a means of manipulating electron spin to control charge transport in 'spintronic' devices. In contrast, much less attention has been paid to the effects of domains and domain walls on the electrical properties of antiferromagnets: antiferromagnetic domains show no net external magnetic moment, and so are difficult to manipulate or probe. Here we describe electrical measurements on chromium--a simple metal and quintessential spin density wave antiferromagnet--that show behaviour directly related to spin density wave formation and the presence of antiferromagnetic domains. Two types of thermal hysteresis are seen in both longitudinal and Hall resistivity: the first can be explained by the quantization of spin density waves due to the finite film thickness (confirmed by X-ray diffraction measurements) and the second by domain-wall scattering of electrons. We also observe the striking influence of the electrical lead configuration (a mesoscopic effect) on the resistivity of macroscopic samples in the spin density wave state. Our results are potentially of practical importance, in that they reveal tunable electrical effects of film thickness and domain walls that are as large as the highest seen for ferromagnets.     

Oscillatory dependence of current-driven magnetic domain wall motion on current pulse length

Magnetic domain walls, in which the magnetization direction varies continuously from one direction to another, have long been objects of considerable interest. New concepts for devices based on such domain walls are made possible by the direct manipulation of the walls using spin-polarized electrical current through the phenomenon of spin momentum transfer. Most experiments to date have considered the current-driven motion of domain walls under quasi-static conditions, whereas for technological applications, the walls must be moved on much shorter timescales. Here we show that the motion of domain walls under nanosecond-long current pulses is surprisingly sensitive to the pulse length. In particular, we find that the probability of dislodging a domain wall, confined to a pinning site in a permalloy nanowire, oscillates with the length of the current pulse, with a period of just a few nanoseconds. Using an analytical model and micromagnetic simulations, we show that this behaviour is connected to a current-induced oscillatory motion of the domain wall. The period is determined by the wall's mass and the slope of the confining potential. When the current is turned off during phases of the domain wall motion when it has enough momentum, the domain wall is driven out of the confining potential in the opposite direction to the flow of spin angular momentum. This dynamic amplification effect could be exploited in magnetic nanodevices based on domain wall motion.     

Magnetic carbon

The discovery of nanostructured forms of molecular carbon has led to renewed interest in the varied properties of this element. Both graphite and C60 can be electron-doped by alkali metals to become superconducting; transition temperatures of up to 52 K have been attained by field-induced hole-doping of C60 (ref. 2). Recent experiments and theoretical studies have suggested that electronic instabilities in pure graphite may give rise to superconducting and ferromagnetic properties, even at room temperature. Here we report the serendipitous discovery of strong magnetic signals in rhombohedral C60. Our intention was to search for superconductivity in polymerized C60; however, it appears that our high-pressure, high-temperature polymerization process results in a magnetically ordered state. The material exhibits features typical of ferromagnets: saturation magnetization, large hysteresis and attachment to a magnet at room temperature. The temperature dependences of the saturation and remanent magnetization indicate a Curie temperature near 500 K.     

KNbO_3 180°畴的第一性原理计算

利用第一性原理计算方法,考察铁电材料KNbO3的180°畴结构,并计算以K和Nb原子为对称中心的畴壁厚度、畴壁能及两种畴壁间移动的势垒高度.结果表明:该材料的畴壁厚度为1~2个晶胞常数;以K原子为对称中心的畴壁更稳定,其畴壁能为7.58 mJ/m2;以Nb为对称中心的畴壁不稳定,会逐渐变为以K为对称中心的畴壁,其畴壁能为15.16mJ/m2;畴壁移至最近邻晶格位置的势垒值为7.58mJ/m2.     

Current-induced resonance and mass determination of a single magnetic domain wall

A magnetic domain wall (DW) is a spatially localized change of magnetization configuration in a magnet. This topological object has been predicted to behave at low energy as a composite particle with finite mass. This particle will couple directly with electric currents as well as magnetic fields, and its manipulation using electric currents is of particular interest with regard to the development of high-density magnetic memories. The DW mass sets the ultimate operation speed of these devices, but has yet to be determined experimentally. Here we report the direct observation of the dynamics of a single DW in a ferromagnetic nanowire, which demonstrates that such a topological particle has a very small but finite mass of 6.6 x 10(-23) kg. This measurement was realized by preparing a tunable DW potential in the nanowire, and detecting the resonance motion of the DW induced by an oscillating current. The resonance also allows low-current operation, which is crucial in device applications; a DW displacement of 10 microm was induced by a current density of 10(10) A m(-2).     

脉冲激光沉积法原位后退火生长MgB2薄膜的研究

采用脉冲激光沉积的方法在 Al₂O₃（0001）基片上先生成 Mg-B 混和薄膜,然后采用原位后退火的方法生成 MgB₂ 超导薄膜,采用磁测量（M-T）、X射线衍射、扫描电子显微镜技术分析了各种沉积及退火条件对 MgB₂ 超导薄膜表面形貌、晶体结构、超导电性的影响。在沉积温度为 200 ℃,退火时间 5min 时,改变退火温度得到一组薄膜,研究退火温度对超导薄膜性质的影响,得到了转变温度-退火温度曲线。在退火温度为 670℃、720℃ 时,得到了最高的临界转变温度 T_c=33K,X射线衍射结果表明此时的薄膜有 c 轴取向。同时比较了在 200℃ 下沉积,在 670℃ 下分别退火不同时间的薄膜的超导性质。还比较了分别在不同温度下沉积,然后在 670℃ 下退火 5min 的薄膜的超导性质。结果表明,沉积温度和退火温度、退火时间极大的影响了薄膜的各种性质。     

Observation of an O8 molecular lattice in the epsilon phase of solid oxygen

Of the simple diatomic molecules, oxygen is the only one to carry a magnetic moment. This makes solid oxygen particularly interesting: it is considered a 'spin-controlled' crystal that displays unusual magnetic order. At very high pressures, solid oxygen changes from an insulating to a metallic state; at very low temperatures, it even transforms to a superconducting state. Structural investigations of solid oxygen began in the 1920s and at present, six distinct crystallographic phases are established unambiguously. Of these, the epsilon phase of solid oxygen is particularly intriguing: it exhibits a dark-red colour, very strong infrared absorption, and a magnetic collapse. It is also stable over a very large pressure domain and has been the subject of numerous X-ray diffraction, spectroscopic and theoretical studies. But although epsilon-oxygen has been shown to have a monoclinic C2/m symmetry and its infrared absorption behaviour attributed to the association of oxygen molecules into larger units, its exact structure remains unknown. Here we use single-crystal X-ray diffraction data collected between 13 and 18 GPa to determine the structure of epsilon-oxygen. We find that epsilon-oxygen is characterized by the association of four O2 molecules into a rhombohedral molecular unit, held together by what are probably weak chemical bonds. This structure is consistent with existing spectroscopic data, and further validated by the observation of a newly predicted Raman stretching mode.     

Dynamical transition of myoglobin revealed by inelastic neutron scattering

Structural fluctuations in proteins on the picosecond timescale have been studied in considerable detail by theoretical methods such as molecular dynamics simulation, but there exist very few experimental data with which to test the conclusions. We have used the technique of inelastic neutron scattering to investigate atomic motion in hydrated myoglobin over the temperature range 4-350 K and on the molecular dynamics timescale 0.1-100 ps. At temperatures below 180 K myoglobin behaves as a harmonic solid, with essentially only vibrational motion. Above 180 K there is a striking dynamic transition arising from the excitation of nonvibrational motion, which we interpret as corresponding to torsional jumps between states of different energy, with a mean energy asymmetry of 12 kJ mol-1. This extra mobility is reflected in a strong temperature dependence of the mean-square atomic displacements, a phenomenon previously observed specifically for the heme iron by M?ssbauer spectroscopy, but on a much slower timescale (10(-7) s). It also correlates with a glass-like transition in the hydration shell of myoglobin and with the temperature-dependence of ligand-binding rates at the heme iron, as monitored by flash photolysis. In contrast, the crystal structure of myoglobin determined down to 80 K shows no significant structural transition. The dynamical behaviour we find for myoglobin (and other globular proteins) suggests a coupling of fast local motions to slower collective motions, which is a characteristic feature of other dense glass-forming systems.     

在磁泡材料中作用在BL线和BL串上的动力学反作用力

本文讨论了含有BL线和BL串的磁泡畴壁的动力学.应用磁畴壁运动的基本方程推导出作用在单个BL线和正常磁泡畴壁的动力学反作用力并由含有BL串的畴磁壁运动的耦合方程给出这些力的合成形式.     

A ferromagnet in a continuously tunable random field

Most physical and biological systems are disordered, even though the majority of theoretical models treat disorder as a weak perturbation. One particularly simple system is a ferromagnet approaching its Curie temperature, T(C), where all of the spins associated with partially filled atomic shells acquire parallel orientation. With the addition of disorder by way of chemical substitution, the Curie point is suppressed, but no qualitatively new phenomena appear in bulk measurements as long as the disorder is truly random on the atomic scale and not so large as to eliminate ferromagnetism entirely. Here we report the discovery that a simply measured magnetic response is singular above the Curie temperature of a model, disordered magnet, and that the associated singularity grows to an anomalous divergence at T(C). The origin of the singular response is the random internal field induced by an external magnetic field transverse to the favoured direction for magnetization. The fact that ferromagnets can be studied easily and with high precision using bulk susceptibility and a large variety of imaging tools will not only advance fundamental studies of the random field problem, but also suggests a mechanism for tuning the strength of domain wall pinning, the key to applications.     

Bloch线链传输特性的计算机模拟

本文用有限差分法求解磁泡薄膜畴壁运动非线性耦合微分方程组,讨论了二维含Bloch线链畴壁的边界条件和初始条件,用计算机模拟了VBL势阱对畴壁运动的影响及VBL传输特性.     

Stable ultrahigh-density magneto-optical recordings using introduced linear defects

The stability of data bits in magnetic recording media at ultra-high densities is compromised by the thermal 'flips'--magnetic spin reversals--of nano-sized spin domains, which erase the stored information. Media that are magnetized perpendicular to the plane of the film, such as ultrathin cobalt films or multilayered structures, are more stable against thermal self-erasure than conventional memory devices. In this context, magneto-optical memories seem particularly promising for ultrahigh-density recording on portable disks, and bit densities of approximately 100 Gbit inch(-2) (ref. 7) have been demonstrated using recent advances in the bit writing and reading techniques. But the roughness and mobility of the magnetic domain walls prevents closer packing of the magnetic bits, and therefore presents a challenge to reaching even higher bit densities. Here we report that the strain imposed by a linear defect in a magnetic thin film can smooth rough domain walls over regions hundreds of micrometres in size, and halt their motion. A scaling analysis of this process, based on the generic physics of disorder-controlled elastic lines, points to a simple way by which magnetic media might be prepared that can store data at densities in excess of 1 Tbit inch(-2).     

基于灰度共生矩阵的微动干扰分类识别

针对雷达成像中面临的调制转发微动干扰、微动散射波干扰、脉冲卷积微动干扰3种新型微动干扰样式的识别问题,提出一种基于灰度共生矩阵的干扰识别方法。该方法从图像域角度出发,首先对雷达接收信号矩阵进行灰度化处理,然后利用灰度共生矩阵提取其纹理参数并构造特征参数,最后采用KNN分类器实现了对雷达接收信号中目标回波和3种微动干扰样式的检测与识别。仿真实验结果表明,当信噪比为-5 dB时,不同干信比下4种信号样式的识别率均能够达到90%以上,每种信号样式整体识别率在98%以上;当信噪比为5 dB时,不同干信比下4种信号样式的识别率均能够达到95%以上,每种信号样式整体识别率在99%以上。     

Nanometre-scale displacement sensing using a single electron transistor

It has been a long-standing goal to detect the effects of quantum mechanics on a macroscopic mechanical oscillator. Position measurements of an oscillator are ultimately limited by quantum mechanics, where 'zero-point motion' fluctuations in the quantum ground state combine with the uncertainty relation to yield a lower limit on the measured average displacement. Development of a position transducer, integrated with a mechanical resonator, that can approach this limit could have important applications in the detection of very weak forces, for example in magnetic resonance force microscopy and a variety of other precision experiments. One implementation that might allow near quantum-limited sensitivity is to use a single electron transistor (SET) as a displacement sensor: the exquisite charge sensitivity of the SET at cryogenic temperatures is exploited to measure motion by capacitively coupling it to the mechanical resonator. Here we present the experimental realization of such a device, yielding an unequalled displacement sensitivity of 2 x 10(-15) m x Hz(-1/2) for a 116-MHz mechanical oscillator at a temperature of 30 mK-a sensitivity roughly a factor of 100 larger than the quantum limit for this oscillator.     

Superconductivity on the border of itinerant-electron ferromagnetism in UGe2

The absence of simple examples of superconductivity adjoining itinerant-electron ferromagnetism in the phase diagram has for many years cast doubt on the validity of conventional models of magnetically mediated superconductivity. On closer examination, however, very few systems have been studied in the extreme conditions of purity, proximity to the ferromagnetic state and very low temperatures required to test the theory definitively. Here we report the observation of superconductivity on the border of ferromagnetism in a pure system, UGe2, which is known to be qualitatively similar to the classic d-electron ferromagnets. The superconductivity that we observe below 1 K, in a limited pressure range on the border of ferromagnetism, seems to arise from the same electrons that produce band magnetism. In this case, superconductivity is most naturally understood in terms of magnetic as opposed to lattice interactions, and by a spin-triplet rather than the spin-singlet pairing normally associated with nearly antiferromagnetic metals.     

Crossover between classical and quantum shot noise in chaotic cavities

The discreteness of charge in units of e led Schottky in 1918 to predict that the electrical current in a vacuum tube fluctuates even if all spurious noise sources are eliminated carefully. This phenomenon is now widely known as shot noise. In recent years, shot noise in mesoscopic conductors, where charge motion is quantum-coherent over distances comparable to the system size, has been studied extensively. In those experiments, charge does not propagate as an isolated entity through free space, as for vacuum tubes, but is part of a degenerate and quantum-coherent Fermi sea of charges. It has been predicted that shot noise in mesoscopic conductors can disappear altogether when the system is tuned to a regime where electron motion becomes classically chaotic. Here we experimentally verify this prediction by using chaotic cavities where the time that electrons dwell inside can be tuned. Shot noise is present for large dwell times, where the electron motion through the cavity is 'smeared' by quantum scattering, and it disappears for short dwell times, when the motion becomes classically deterministic.     

(002)织构HCP钴纳米线磁性研究

采用交流电化学沉积法在氧化铝模板孔洞中制备了有序钴纳米线阵列。利用X射线衍射、扫描电子显微镜、透射电子显微镜、振动样品磁强计等对样品的结构、形貌和磁性进行了表征和研究。扫描电镜表明氧化铝模板孔洞直径为20 nm,结构研究证明钴纳米线为六角密堆积(HCP)结构且具有很强的(002)织构,磁性测试发现该钴纳米线阵列具有很强的单轴各向异性,室温矫顽力达2 590 Oe,有望用于高温永磁磁记录。