Megan C. Prestgard

A review of recent advances in nonenzymatic glucose sensors

Currently, there is an overwhelming demand for the development and improvement of glucose sensors. Not only has the number of people requiring these sensors significantly increased over the last decade, so has the demand to make sensors which are both biocompatible and have increased sensing capabilities as compared to current technologies. In order to meet these needs, a move towards nonenzymatic glucose sensors has begun. These new sensors have garnered significant interest due to their capacity to achieve continuous glucose monitoring, their high stability compared to traditional glucose sensors, and the ease of their fabrication. Research has been extensively geared towards the preparation of these nonenzymatic glucose sensors from novel materials, often with unique micro- or nano-structures, which possess ideal properties for electrochemical biosensor applications. In recent years, a variety of materials including noble metals, metal oxides, carbon nanotubes, graphene, polymers, and composites have been explored for their electrocatalytic response to the oxidation of glucose. In this review, the most recent advances in nonenzymatic glucose sensors are visited, with the focus being on the last five years of research.

Robust longitudinal spin-Seebeck effect in Bi-YIG thin films

In recent years, the coupling of magnetic insulators (bismuth-doped yttrium iron garnet, Bi-YIG) with platinum has garnered significant interest in spintronics research due to applicability as spin-current-driven thermoelectric coatings. These coatings bridge the gap between spintronics technologies and thermoelectric materials, providing a novel means of transforming waste heat into electricity. However, there remain questions regarding the origins of the spin-Seebeck effect (SSE) as well as claims that observed effects are a manifestation of magnetic proximity effects, which would induce magnetic behavior in platinum. Herewith we provide support that the voltages observed in the Bi-YIG/Pt films are purely SSE voltages. We reaffirm claims that magnon transport theory provides an ample basis for explaining SSE behavior. Finally, we illustrate the advantages of pulsed-laser deposition, as these Bi-YIG films possess large SSE voltages (even in absence of an external magnetic field), as much as twice those of films fabricated via solution-based methods.

Growth of centimeter-scale atomically thin MoS2 films by pulsed laser deposition

We are reporting the growth of single layer and few-layer MoS2 films on single crystal sapphire substrates using a pulsed-laser deposition technique. A pulsed KrF excimer laser (wavelength: 248 nm; pulse width: 25 ns) was used to ablate a polycrystalline MoS2 target. The material thus ablated was deposited on a single crystal sapphire (0001) substrate kept at 700 °C in an ambient vacuum of 10−6 Torr. Detailed characterization of the films was performed using atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The ablation of the MoS2 target by 50 laser pulses (energy density: 1.5 J/cm2) was found to result in the formation of a monolayer of MoS2 as shown by AFM results. In the Raman spectrum, A1g and E12g peaks were observed at 404.6 cm−1 and 384.5 cm−1 with a spacing of 20.1 cm−1, confirming the monolayer thickness of the film. The UV-Vis absorption spectrum exhibited two exciton absorption bands at 672 nm (1.85 eV) and 615 nm (2.02 eV), with a...

Magnetic characteristics of phase-separated CeO2: Co thin films

Herewith, we are reporting the magnetic properties of phase-separated Co-doped CeO2 films (with a Ce:Co atomic-ratio of 0.97:0.03) grown on single-crystal SrTiO3 (001) substrates. A comparison of the magnetic characteristics of these films with those of homogenously doped CeO2:Co films of the same composition illustrates the significant differences in their magnetic behavior. These behavioral characteristics provide a model for determining if the magnetic behavior observed in this, as well as in other diluted magnetic dielectric systems, is due to homogeneous doping, a mixture of doping and transition metal cluster formation, or exists purely as a result of transition metal clustering.

Resonant magnetotunneling between normal and ferromagnetic electrodes in relation to the three-terminal spin transport

The recently suggested mechanism [Y. Song and H. Dery, Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 047205 (2014)] of the three-terminal spin transport is based on the resonant tunneling of electrons between ferromagnetic and normal electrodes via an impurity. The sensitivity of current to a weak external magnetic field stems from a spin blockade, which, in turn, is enabled by strong on-site repulsion. We demonstrate that this sensitivity exists even in the absence of repulsion when a single-particle description applies. Within this description, we calculate exactly the resonant-tunneling current between the electrodes. The mechanism of magnetoresistance, completely different from the spin blocking, has its origin in the interference of virtual tunneling amplitudes. Spin imbalance in ferromagnetic electrode is responsible for this interference and the resulting coupling of the Zeeman levels. This coupling also affects the current in the correlated regime.

Tb2O3 thin films: An alternative candidate for high-k dielectric applications

We are reporting the growth and structural, optical, and dielectric properties of Tb2O3, a relatively unexplored high-k dielectric material. A pulsed-laser deposition technique was used to grow Tb2O3 thin-films on four different substrates: Si(100), SrTiO3(100), LaAlO3(100), and MgO(100). High-resolution X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy results confirmed that film growth in an oxygen-rich (10−1 Torr) environment yields nearly single-crystal C-phase films, while a low-oxygen (10−6 Torr) environment growth results in the formation of monoclinic polycrystalline B-phase films. Optical transmission measurements showed that the bandgap of Tb2O3 is direct in nature with a value of 2.8 eV and 3.4 eV for the cubic and monoclinic phases, respectively. By measuring the capacitance of test devices, quite high dielectric constants of 13.5 and 24.9 were obtained for the B- and C-phase Tb2O3 films, respectively.

Observation of the inverse spin Hall effect in ZnO thin films: An all-electrical approach to spin injection and detection

The inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE) is a newly discovered, quantum mechanical phenomenon where an applied spin current results in the generation of an electrical voltage in the transverse direction. It is anticipated that the ISHE can provide a more simple way of measuring spin currents in spintronic devices. The ISHE was first observed in noble metals that exhibit strong spin-orbit coupling. However, recently, the ISHE has been detected in conventional semiconductors (such as Si and Ge), which possess weak spin-orbit coupling. This suggests that large-spin orbit coupling is not a requirement for observing the ISHE. In this paper, we are reporting the observation of the ISHE in an alternative semiconductor material, zinc oxide (ZnO) using all-electrical means. In our study, we found that when a spin-polarized current is injected into the ZnO film from a NiFe ferromagnetic injector via an MgO tunnel barrier layer, a voltage transverse to both the direction of the current as well as its spin-polarization is...

Shape of the Hanle curve in spin-transport structures in the presence of an ac drive

Resistance between two ferromagnetic electrodes coupled to a normal channel depends on their relative magnetizations. The spin-dependent component,

Evidence of Kinetically Stable Glassy Phase Formation in Ultrathin NdNiO3 Films

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Temperature dependence of the spin relaxation in highly degenerate ZnO thin films

, of the resistance changes with magnetic field,