Brajalal Sinha

Room temperature dielectric and magnetic properties of Gd and Ti co-doped BiFeO3 ceramics

Room temperature dielectric and magnetic properties of BiFeO3 samples, co-doped with magnetic Gd and non-magnetic Ti in place of Bi and Fe, respectively, were reported. The nominal compositions of Bi0.9Gd0.1Fe1–xTixO3 (x = 0.00-0.25) ceramics were synthesized by conventional solid state reaction technique. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that the substitution of Fe by Ti induces a phase transition from rhombohedral to orthorhombic at x > 0.20. Morphological studies demonstrated that the average grain size was reduced from ∼1.5 μm to ∼200 nm with the increase in Ti content. Due to Ti substitution, the dielectric constant was stable over a wide range of high frequencies (30 kHz to 20 MHz) by suppressing the dispersion at low frequencies. The dielectric properties of the compounds are associated with their improved morphologies and reduced leakage current densities probably due to the lower concentration of oxygen vacancies in the compositions. Magnetic properties of Bi0.9Gd0.1Fe1–xTixO3 (x = 0.00-0.25) ...

Translocation of bio-functionalized magnetic beads using smart magnetophoresis

We demonstrate real time on-chip translocation of bio-functionalized superparamagnetic beads on a silicon surface in a solution using a magnetophoresis technique. The superparamagnetic beads act as biomolecule carriers. Fluorescent-labeled Atto-520 biotin was loaded to streptavidin-coated magnetic beads (Dynabead(®) M-280) by means of ligand-receptor interactions. The magnetic pathways were patterned lithographically such that semi-elliptical Ni(80)Fe(20) elements were arranged sequentially for a few hundred micrometers in length. An external rotating magnetic field was used to drive translational forces on the magnetic beads that were proportional to the product of the field strength and its gradient. The translational force at the curving edge of the pathway element of 6 μm diameter was calculated to be ∼1.2 pN for an applied field of 7.9 kA m(-1). However, the force at the flat edge was calculated to be ∼0.16 pN. The translational force was larger than the drag force and thus allowed the magnetic beads to move in a directional way along the curving edge of the pathway. However, the force was not sufficient to move the beads along the flat edge. The top and bottom curving edge semi-elliptical NiFe pathways were obliquely-arranged on the left and right sides of the converging site, respectively. This caused a central translational force that allowed the converging and diverging of the Atto-520 biotin loaded streptavidin magnetic beads at a particular site.

Nanowires array modified electrode for enhanced electrochemical detection of nucleic acid

The gold nanowires array electrode (AuNWsA) was synthesized by two step electrodeposition, which provided well oriented vertically aligned nanowires. The dimensions of the nanowires were determined by scanning electron micrograph and found to be around 1.5 μm in length with 200 nm diameter. Each nanowire was separated by a distance of 2-3 times the diameter of the nanowire itself. The electrochemical performance of the AuNWsA electrode was evaluated using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Using these analytical tools, this AuNWsA electrode was shown to have a high effective surface area and excellent electron transfer surfaces compared with flat bare Au electrode. The AuNWsA electrode was then used as an electrochemical biosensor electrode by immobilizing probe DNA and analyzed by CV, EIS and Fourier transform infrared measurements. The results of this analysis suggested that the AuNWsA electrode provides good surfaces for the immobilization and hybridization of DNA. The selectivity of the probe DNA immobilized AuNWsA electrode was tested using non-complementary and one base pair mismatching DNA. The detection limit of the AuNWsA electrode was determined to be 6.78×10(-9) M, which is two times smaller than the bare Au electrode.

Room temperature magnetic detection of spin switching in nanosized spin-crossover materials.

Recently, nanoscale spin-crossover (SCO) particles have been the subject of great interest. The change in the 3d electronic configuration of the metal ion results in significant changes in the metal-ligand bond length and geometry, as well as in the molecular volume. Hence the spin switching process is accompanied by a remarkable change in the color, mechanical properties, dielectric properties, and magnetic susceptibility. The synthesis and investigation of these materials at reduced length scales is central not only to the exploration of fundamental effects of size reduction in these systems, but also for the development of new functional materials with applications, including guest molecule sensing, memory devices, and molecular switches

High field-sensitivity planar Hall sensor based on NiFe/Cu/IrMn trilayer structure

A trilayer structure, which has weak exchange coupling and high active current, has been optimized emphasizing for high field-sensitivity planar Hall effect (PHE) sensor. To illustrate the high field sensitivity of the PHE sensor, three different structures are fabricated: a bilayer thin film Ta(3)/NiFe(10)/IrMn(10)/Ta(3) (nm), a spin-valve thin film Ta(3)/NiFe(10)/Cu(1.2)/NiFe(2)/IrMn(10)/Ta(3) (nm), and a trilayer thin film Ta(3)/NiFe(10)/Cu(0.12)/IrMn(10)/Ta(3) (nm). The characterized results reveal that the field sensitivity of PHE sensor based on trilayer thin film is about one order larger than that of bilayer and is about twice larger than that of spin-valve thin film. Moreover, in trilayer structure, the thinner spacer layer gives the better performance. When the nominal thickness of spacer Cu layer is the smallest, the PHE sensor exhibits the best performance, i.e., in this experiment, it is about 0.12 nm.

Planar Hall resistance ring sensor based on NiFe/Cu/IrMn trilayer structure

We have investigated the sensitivity of a planar Hall resistance sensor as a function of the ring radius in the trilayer structure Ta(3)/IrMn(10)/Cu(0.2)/NiFe(10)/Ta(3) (nm). The diagonal components of magnetoresistivity tensor in rectangular prism corresponding to anisotropic magnetoresistance are few ten times larger than that of off-diagonal component corresponding to planar Hall resistance. However, it is noteworthy that the resultant contribution is governed by the off-diagonal components due to the cancellation of diagonal components in the self-balanced bridge configuration. Both the experimental and theoretical results show that the sensitivity varies linearly with the ring radius. In multi-ring architecture, the circumference can be increased to a limit, which consequently enhances sensitivity. We found the sensitivity of the investigated 7-rings planar Hall to be more than 600 μV/Oe.

Planar Hall magnetoresistive aptasensor for thrombin detection.

The use of aptamer-based assays is an emerging and attractive approach in disease research and clinical diagnostics. A sensitive aptamer-based sandwich-type sensor is presented to detect human thrombin using a planar Hall magnetoresistive (PHR) sensor in cooperation with superparamagnetic labels. A PHR sensor has the great advantages of a high signal-to-noise ratio, a small offset voltage and linear response in the low-field region, allowing it to act as a high-resolution biosensor. In the system presented here, the sensor has an active area of 50 µm × 50 µm with a 10-nm gold layer deposited onto the sensor surface prior to the binding of thiolated DNA primary aptamer. A polydimethylsiloxane well of 600-µm radius and 1-mm height was prepared around the sensor surface to maintain the same specific area and volume for each sensor. The sensor response was traced in real time upon the addition of streptavidin-functionalized magnetic labels on the sensor. A linear response to the thrombin concentration in the range of 86 pM-8.6 µM and a lower detection limit down to 86 pM was achieved by the proposed present method with a sample volume consumption of 2 µl. The proposed aptasensor has a strong potential for application in clinical diagnosis.

Magnetic Sensor-Based Detection of Picoliter Volumes of Magnetic Nanoparticle Droplets in a Microfluidic Chip

We have designed, fabricated and tested an integrated microfluidic chip with a Planar Hall Effect (PHE) sensor. The sensor was constructed by sequentially sputtering Ta/NiFe/Cu/NiFe/IrMn/Ta onto glass. The microfluidic channel was fabricated with poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) using soft lithography. Magnetic nanoparticles suspended in hexadecane were used as ferrofluid, of which the saturation magnetisation was 3.4 emu/cc. Droplets of ferrofluid were generated in a T-junction of a microfluidic channel after hydrophilic modification of the PDMS. The size and interval of the droplets were regulated by pressure on the ferrofluid channel inlet. The PHE sensor detected the flowing droplets of ferrofluid, as expected from simulation results. The shape of the signal was dependent on both the distance of the magnetic droplet from the sensor and the droplet length. The sensor was able to detect a magnetic moment of 2 × 10 ?10 emu at a distance of 10 μm. This study provides an enhanced understanding of the magnetic parameters of ferrofluid in a microfluidic channel using a PHE sensor and will be used for a sample inlet module inside of integrated magnetic lab-on-a-chip systems for the analysis of biomolecules.

Planar Hall Effect Ring Sensors for High Field-Sensitivity

Planar Hall effect sensor has been explored using multi-layer cross-shaped and bridge geometry. We present planar Hall effect in a ring-shaped geometry experimentally that shows progress of sensor sensitivity as well as output signals. Sensitivity improves about 170 times compare to cross-shaped geometry and about 1.4 times to bridge geometry in conventional measurement system. These values become 2.5 times larger at 20o measurement system. The presented ring geometry may take great potential in Planar Hall effect sensor applications.

NiCo sensing layer for enhanced signals in planar hall effect sensors

NiCo alloy materials have been investigaged as a potential sensing layer for planar Hall effect (PHE) sensors in magnetic multilayer structures. In this study, the magnetoresistive performance of the NiCo alloy is compared with that of the NiFe alloy. With an optimum thickness of 10 nm, the increment of the PHE voltage (Vmax) for the NiCo-based sensor was approximately 1.5 times larger than that of the NiFe-based sensor. The field sensitivity of both sensor types appeared to be nearly equal. However, the dynamic field range for the NiCo sensor was increased by approximately 40% compared with that of the NiFe sensor. The measuring configuration was optimized in order to obtain higher field sensitivity in the sensor. The field sensitivity was measured to be at a maximum at a 20° angle between the easy axis of the sensor and the applied external field, which was approximately three times higher than that in the perpendicular direction.