Low-Temperature Properties of the Magnetic Sensor with Amorphous Wire.

We found that a magnetic sensor made of a coil wound around a 5 f0.1 mm (Fe0.06Co0.94)72.5Si2.5B15 (FeCoSiB) amorphous wire could operate in a wide temperature range from room temperature to liquid helium temperature (4.2 K). The low-temperature sensing element of the sensor was connected to the room-temperature driving circuit by only one coaxial cable with a diameter of 1 mm. The one-cable design of the magnetic sensor reduced the heat transferring through the cable to the liquid helium. To develop a magnetic sensing system capable of operating at liquid helium temperature, we evaluated the low-temperature properties of the FeCoSiB magnetic sensor.

Single-crystalline nanogap electrodes: enhancing the nanowire-breakdown process with a gaseous environment.

A method for fabricating single-crystalline nanogaps on Si substrates was developed. Polycrystalline Pt nanowires on Si substrates were broken down by current flow under various gaseous environments. The crystal structure of the nanogap electrode was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Nanogap electrodes sandwiched between Pt-large-crystal-grains were obtained by the breakdown of the wire in an O(2) or H(2) atmosphere. These nanogap electrodes show intense spots in the electron diffraction pattern. The diffraction pattern corresponds to Pt (111), indicating that single-crystal grains are grown by the electrical wire breakdown process in an O(2) or H(2) atmosphere. The Pt wires that have (111)-texture and coherent boundaries can be considered ideal as interconnectors for single molecular electronics. The simple method for fabrication of a single-crystalline nanogap is one of the first steps toward standard nanogap electrodes for single molecular instruments and opens the door to future research on physical phenomena in nanospaces.