Petru S. Fodor

Fabrication and characterization of Co1−xFex alloy nanowires

Co1−xFex alloy nanowires with 40 nm diam and x=0–1.0 were fabricated by electrodeposition in nanopores of alumina templates. The crystalline structure of the nanowires is concentration dependent and shows a transition from the cobalt hexagonal-closed-packed structure (hcp) to a face-centered-cubic structure (fcc) in the concentration range 0<x<0.1. For an iron content greater than 15 at % the structure becomes body-centered-cubic (bcc). The nanowires with an aspect ratio of about 8 show a highly anisotropic magnetization with the easy axis along the length of the wire. The squareness of the hysteresis loops is between 72% and 93% for magnetic fields parallel to the wires while the squareness is less than 13% for fields perpendicular to the wires. The coercivity along the easy axis reaches a maximum of 2150 Oe for x=0.55 and is almost concentration independent for 0.5<x<0.6.

X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Magnetization Studies of Iron–Vanadium Phosphate Glasses

Abstract Iron–sodium borate glasses with the chemical composition [(B2O3)0.70−x(Na2O)0.3(Fe2O3)x], where 0.00⩽x⩽0.15, have been prepared and investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and magnetization measurements. The core-level binding energies of O 1s, B 1s, and Fe 2p have been measured with both O 1s and B 1s peaks shifting by about 2 eV towards smaller binding energies in the Fe-containing borate glasses while the Fe 2p3/2 and 2p1/2 core levels for the glasses remain essentially unchanged from those of Fe2O3 powder. The O 1s spectrum is deconvoluted into two peaks and the variation in the ratio of the peak areas is discussed in terms of the local iron structure. We suggest that both X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and magnetization measurements show that the Fe ions remain essentially in one oxidation state, probably Fe3+, for the Fe borate glasses. In addition, the appearance of a large hysteresis between the zero field-cooled and field-cooled magnetization data indicate that the Fe moments are clustered and that the predominant interaction is antiferromagnetic.

Modeling of Hysteresis and Magnetization Curves for Hexagonally Ordered Electrodeposited Nanowires

A computational model has been developed to investigate how the magnetostatic interactions affect the hysteresis and magnetization curves for hexagonal arrays of magnetic nanowires. The magnetization coupling between nanowires arises from the stray fields produced by the other nanowires composing the array such that the field at each nanowire is the sum of the external field and the interaction field with the other nanowires. Using only two adjustable parameters: the interaction between nearest neighbors and the width of the Gaussian distribution in switching fields centered around the measured coercivity, simulations are compared with the experimentally measured hysteresis and magnetization curves for electrodeposited Co0.45Fe0.55 alloy nanowires with diameters from 12 to 48 nm. Excellent agreement is found for all nanowire systems except for the largest diameter arrays where deviations from the Gaussian distribution of switching fields need to be considered.

Investigation of magnetic interactions in large arrays of magnetic nanowires

The magnetic interactions in large arrays of ordered magnetic nanowires with 12–48nm diameter and 55–95nm spacing were investigated using modified Henkel plots. The measurements for nanowire arrays ac demagnetized with the field applied parallel to the nanowire axis (the easy magnetization axis) indicate that the dominant interaction during the switching process is the magnetostatic coupling between the nanowires. Nevertheless, while the strength of the magnetostatic interactions increases with the magnetic moment associated with the nanowires, the increase is not linear with respect to the volume of the nanowires. Moreover, the dependence of the remanence curves on the field history suggests that even for magnetic nanowire systems with high geometric anisotropy, the magnetic pole structure of the nanowires can be complex. This conclusion is also supported by the field dependence of the initial magnetization curves.

Group IV solid state proposals for quantum computation

The discovery of the quantum factorization algorithm more than a decade ago triggered intense interest in exploring possible physical realizations of quantum computers. Among the many solid state proposals, electron and nuclear spins in Si and group IV related materials have long coherence times and the capability of state preparation, gating and read-out using electric, magnetic and optical fields. Proposals involving silicon seek to take advantage of an existing mature technology and the implicit promise of scalability from solid state materials. Nevertheless, building such quantum systems depends in many cases on the development of fabrication techniques with nearly atomic precision. Managing decoherence, initialization and read-out in any quantum computer remains a daunting task. In this review we summarize proposals and recent developments relevant to the possible realization of a quantum computer constructed out of Si (or group IV) materials.

Variable-temperature scanning optical and force microscope

The implementation of a scanning microscope capable of working in confocal, atomic force and apertureless near field configurations is presented. The microscope is designed to operate in the temperature range 4–300 K, using conventional helium flow cryostats. In atomic force microscope (AFM) mode, the distance between the sample and an etched tungsten tip is controlled by a self-sensing piezoelectric tuning fork. The vertical position of both the AFM head and microscope objective can be accurately controlled using piezoelectric coarse approach motors. The scanning is performed using a compact XYZ stage, while the AFM and optical head are kept fixed, allowing scanning probe and optical measurements to be acquired simultaneously and in concert. The free optical axis of the microscope enables both reflection and transmission experiments to be performed.

Investigation of the magnetic properties in strontium–borate vanadate glasses

To further elucidate the nature of the valence state of V ions in vanadate glasses, magnetic susceptibility measurements in the temperature range of 5 to 300 K have been performed on a series of vanadium–strontium–borate (V2O5+SrO+B2O3) oxide glasses with V2O5 concentrations greater than 50 mol %. The magnetic susceptibility for these oxide glasses is found to consist of a temperature-independent paramagnetic contribution arising from V2O5 and a Curie–Weiss temperature-dependent contribution associated with magnetic V4+ ions being present in concentrations between 2% and 10% of the total V concentration. The negative Curie–Weiss temperatures in the range of 0 to −2.8 K indicate a weak antiferromagnetic interaction between the V4+ ions. These results are consistent with a glass network structure consisting of VO5 polyhedra in which the V4+ would be predominantly isolated species, and any interactions between the V4+ ions would result from superexchange interactions through V–O–V bonds.

TIME EVOLUTION OF MIXING IN THE STAGGERED HERRINGBONE MICROCHANNEL

Patterning ridges on the surface of microchannels has been found to be a viable strategy to induce mixing in straight channels, despite their characteristically small Reynolds numbers. In order to identify the fundamental characteristics of the advection process, we evaluate the time evolution of the Renyi entropy associated with the spatial distribution of tracers carried by an incompressible fluid moving through such channels. It is found that independent of the channel surface geometry and of the Reynolds number, the time evolution of the Renyi distributive entropy follows a universal behavior described by a logarithmic increase with time, with a slope close to unity. On the other hand, an analysis of the Shannon mixing entropy evaluated from the time evolution of the position of two tracer species moving through the channel, reveals a cross–over between two different mixing mechanisms: one dominated by the stretching of the interface between the flow regions containing different tracers, and the other dominated by chaotic mixing induced by counter-rotating transversal flows.

Zero magnetization states in electrodeposited Co0.45Fe0.55 nanowire arrays

Co0.45Fe0.55 alloy nanowires with 12 to 35 nm diameter and 12 μm length were fabricated by electrodeposition in porous anodic alumina templates. The initial magnetization curves reveal that the zero magnetization state is not unique and is determined by the field history (ac demagnetization process) leading to the zero average moment state. For ac demagnetization processes with the field applied parallel to the nanowire axis, the subsequent magnetization curves suggest that an individual nanowire behaves as a single domain with neighboring nanowires being antiparallel to each other in the zero magnetization state. However, for a demagnetization process with the field applied perpendicular to the nanowires, a different zero magnetization state is created in which the individual nanowires consist of multidomains having opposite axial orientations. These results are consistent with the asymmetric (symmetric) behavior found in the minor hysteresis loops measured after perpendicular (parallel) ac demagnetizati...

Mixing Enhancement in Serpentine Micromixers with a Non-Rectangular Cross-Section

In this numerical study, a new type of serpentine micromixer involving mixing units with a non-rectangular cross-section is investigated. Similar to other serpentine/spiral shaped micromixers, the design exploits the formation of transversal vortices (Dean flows) in pressure-driven systems, associated with the centrifugal forces experienced by the fluid as it is confined to move along curved geometries. In contrast with other previous designs, though, the use of non-rectangular cross-sections that change orientation between mixing units is exploited to control the center of rotation of the transversal flows formed. The associated extensional flows that thus develop between the mixing segments complement the existent rotational flows, leading to a more complex fluid motion. The fluid flow characteristics and associated mixing are determined numerically from computational solutions to Navier–Stokes equations and the concentration-diffusion equation. It is found that the performance of the investigated mixers exceeds that of simple serpentine channels with a more consistent behavior at low and high Reynolds numbers. An analysis of the mixing quality using an entropic mixing index indicates that maximum mixing can be achieved at Reynolds numbers as small as 20 in less than four serpentine mixing units.