The Impact of High-Temperature Superconductivity on SQUID Magnetometers.

DC and RF Superconducting QUantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) fabricated from low transition temperature (T(c)) superconductors and operated at liquid (4)He temperatures are routinely used as ultrasensitive detectors in many applications, for example, as magnetometers, magnetic gradiometers, voltmeters, and motion detectors. SQUIDs fabricated from high T(c) superconductors such as YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7) and operated in liquid nitrogen at 77 K offer a greater convenience in operation at the expense of a poorer noise performance, particularly at low frequencies. The resolution of SQUID-based magnetometers is compared with that of other types of magnetometers operatng at ambient temperatures.

50 omega characteristic impedance low-pass metal powder filters.

We have fabricated several 50 omega characteristic impedance low-pass metal powder filters. The filters are made with bronze or copper metal powder with varying amounts of metal powder in a metal powder/epoxy mixture. Our goal is to make a filter with a characteristic impedance Z = 50 omega at frequencies up to 10 GHz. Using a 78% bronze powder/epoxy mixture in a suitable geometry, we achieved an impedance Z = 54 omega at 4.2 K, with a cutoff frequency fc approximately/= 0.3 GHz and an attenuation A = Vout/Vin=0.0001 (-80 dB) at 10 GHz. We also made several non-50 omega low-pass bronze powder filters with fc = 1 MHz and A = 0.0001 at 10 MHz. Fabrication details and performance data will be presented for both types of filter.

Escape or switching at short times.

In the standard Arrhenius picture [S. Arrhenius, Z. Phys. Chem., Stoechiom. Verwandtschaftsl. 4, 226 (1889); L. Néel, Ann. Geophys. (C.N.R.S.) 5, 99 (1949)] of thermal switching or escape from a metastable to a stable state, the escape probability per unit time P(s)(t) decreases monotonically with time t as P(s)(t) approximately e(-t/tau(D)), where the decay time tau(D) = tau0e(U/k(B)T), with U the energy barrier, k(B)T the thermal energy, and tau0 the time between escape attempts. Here, we extend the Arrhenius picture to shorter times by deriving general conditions under which P(s)(t) is peaked rather than monotonic, and showing that in the simplest scenario the peak time tau(P) diverges with tau(D) as ln(tau(D)).

Experimental demonstration of an oscillator stabilized Josephson flux qubit.

We experimentally demonstrate the use of a superconducting transmission line, shorted at both ends, to stabilize the operation of a tunable flux qubit. Using harmonic-oscillator stabilization and pulsed dc operation, we have observed Larmor oscillations with a single shot visibility of 90%. In another qubit, the visibility was 60% and there was no measurable visibility reduction after 35 ns.

All the observed universe has contributed to life.

This paper presents evidence that virtually all electrons and nuclei of the atoms that are or have been part of living matter on Earth came from almost all stars in our and nearby galaxies and even from all other galaxies in the Universe that have produced observed high-energy gamma rays. However, a standard 70 kg human is always making about 7 3He, 600 40Ca, and 3000 14N nuclei every second by radioactive decay of 3H, 40K, and 14C, respectively.

Coarse graining in micromagnetics.

Numerical solutions of the micromagnetic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equations provide valuable information at low temperatures (T), but produce egregious errors at higher T. For example, Curie temperatures are often overestimated by an order of magnitude. We show that these errors result from the use of block or coarse-grained variables, without a concomitant renormalization of the system parameters to account for the block size. Renormalization solves the problem of the Curie-point anomaly and improves the accuracy of more complicated micromagnetic simulations, even at low T.

Time-resolved reversal of spin-transfer switching in a nanomagnet.

Time-resolved measurements of spin-transfer-induced (STI) magnetization reversal were made in current-perpendicular spin-valve nanomagnetic junctions subject to a pulsed current bias. These results can be understood within the framework of a Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation that includes STI corrections and a Langevin random field for finite temperature. Comparison of these measurements with model calculations demonstrates that spin-transfer induced excitation is responsible for the observed magnetic reversal in these samples.

Direct investigation of superparamagnetism in Co nanoparticle films.

A direct probe of superparamagnetism was used to determine the complete anisotropy energy distribution of Co nanoparticle films. The films were composed of self-assembled lattices of uniform Co nanoparticles of 3 or 5 nm in diameter, and a variable temperature scanning-SQUID microscope was used to measure temperature-induced spontaneous magnetic noise in the samples. Accurate measurements of anisotropy energy distributions of small volume samples will be critical to magnetic optimization of nanoparticle devices and media.

Current-induced excitations in single cobalt ferromagnetic layer nanopillars.

Current-induced excitations in Cu/Co/Cu single ferromagnetic layer nanopillars ( approximately 50 nm in diameter) have been studied experimentally as a function of Co layer thickness at low temperatures for large applied fields perpendicular to the layers. For asymmetric junctions current-induced excitations are observed at high current densities for only one polarity of the current and are absent at the same current densities in symmetric junctions. These observations confirm recent predictions of spin-transfer torque induced spin-wave excitations in single layer junctions with a strong asymmetry in the spin accumulation in the leads.

Low-frequency magnetic noise in micron-scale magnetic tunnel junctions.

We have observed low-frequency noise due to quasiequilibrium thermal magnetization fluctuations in micron-scale magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). This strongly field-dependent magnetic noise occurs within the magnetic hysteresis loops, either as 1/f or Lorentzian (random telegraph) noise. We attribute it to the thermally excited hopping of magnetic domain walls between pinning sites. Our results show that magnetic stability is a crucial factor in reducing the low-frequency noise in small MTJs.

Current-induced magnetization reversal in high magnetic fields in Co/Cu/Co nanopillars.

Current-induced magnetization dynamics in Co/Cu/Co trilayer nanopillars (approximately 100 nm in diameter) have been studied experimentally at low temperatures for large applied fields perpendicular to the layers. At 4.2 K an abrupt and hysteretic increase in resistance is observed at high current densities for one polarity of the current, comparable to the giant magnetoresistance effect observed at low fields. A micromagnetic model that includes a spin-transfer torque suggests that the current induces a complete reversal of the thin Co layer to alignment antiparallel to the applied field--that is, to a state of maximum magnetic energy.