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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 1,207 records · Page 67
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

Tunable giant magnetic anisotropy in amorphous SmCo thin films

SmCo thin films have been grown by magnetron sputtering at room temperature with a composition of 2-35 at. % Sm. Films with 5 at. % or higher Sm are amorphous and smooth. A giant tunable uniaxial in-plane magnetic anisotropy is induced in the films which peaks in the composition range 11-22 at. % Sm. This cross-over behavior is not due to changes in the atomic moments but rather the local configuration changes. The excellent layer perfection combined with highly tunable magnetic properties make these films important for spintronics applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Current-induced switching of magnetic tunnel junctions: Effects of field-like spin-transfer torque, pinned-layer magnetization orientation, and temperature

We study current-induced switching in magnetic tunnel junctions in the presence of a field-like spin-transfer torque and titled pinned-layer magnetization in the high current limit at finite temperature. We consider both the Slonczewski and field-like torques with coefficients a{sub J} and b{sub J}, respectively. At finite temperatures, σ=b{sub J}/a{sub J}=±1 leads to a smaller mean switching time compared that with σ=0. The reduction of switching time in the presence of the field-like term is due to the alignment effect (for σ>0) and the initial torque effect.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Influence of hydrogen patterning gas on electric and magnetic properties of perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions

To identify the degradation mechanism in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) using hydrogen, the properties of the MTJs were measured by applying an additional hydrogen etch process and a hydrogen plasma process to the patterned MTJs. In these studies, an additional 50 s hydrogen etch process caused the magnetoresistance (MR) to decrease from 103% to 14.7% and the resistance (R) to increase from 6.5 kΩ to 39 kΩ. Moreover, an additional 500 s hydrogen plasma process decreased the MR from 103% to 74% and increased R from 6.5 kΩ to 13.9 kΩ. These results show that MTJs can be damaged by the hydrogen plasma process as well as by the hydrogen etch process, as the atomic bonds in MgO may break and react with the exposed hydrogen gas. Compounds such as MgO hydrate very easily. We also calculated the damaged layer width (DLW) of the patterned MTJs after the hydrogen etching and plasma processes, to evaluate the downscaling limitations of spin-transfer-torque magnetic random-access memory (STT-MRAM) devices. With these calculations, the maximum DLWs at each side of the MTJ, generated by the etching and plasma processes, were 23.8 nm and 12.8 nm, respectively. This result validates that the hydrogen-based MTJ patterning processes cannot be used exclusively in STT-MRAMs beyond 20 nm.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Thermal stability of partially ordered Fe{sub 16}N{sub 2} film on non-magnetic Ag under layer

Partially ordered Fe{sub 16}N{sub 2} thin film with (001) texture is successfully grown on a Ag under layer using a facing target sputtering system. Fe{sub 16}N{sub 2} phase is formed after post-annealing, which is detected by X-ray diffraction (XRD). High saturation magnetization (M{sub s}) of Fe{sub 16}N{sub 2} thin films is observed by vibrating sample magnetometry. It is found that Fe{sub 16}N{sub 2} phase can be stable up to 225 °C, which is demonstrated by the Fe{sub 16}N{sub 2} finger print peak (002) in XRD. After heating to 250 °C, the Fe{sub 16}N{sub 2} phase decomposes, which leads to low M{sub s} and soft magnetic behavior. To further study Fe{sub 16}N{sub 2} decomposition, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is performed to detect the binding energy of nitrogen atoms. Differences of binding energy corresponding to before and after heat treatment show the variation of nitrogen atom in electronic state with surrounding Fe atoms, indicating nitrogen atomic migration during heat treatment.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Modified helix-like instability structure on imploding z-pinch liners that are pre-imposed with a uniform axial magnetic field

Recent experiments at the Sandia National Laboratories Z Facility have, for the first time, studied the implosion dynamics of magnetized liner inertial fusion (MagLIF) style liners that were pre-imposed with a uniform axial magnetic field. As reported [T. J. Awe et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 235005 (2013)] when premagnetized with a 7 or 10 T axial field, these liners developed 3D-helix-like hydrodynamic instabilities; such instabilities starkly contrast with the azimuthally correlated magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor (MRT) instabilities that have been consistently observed in many earlier non-premagnetized experiments. The helical structure persisted throughout the implosion, even though the azimuthal drive field greatly exceeded the expected axial field at the liner's outer wall for all but the earliest stages of the experiment. Whether this modified instability structure has practical importance for magneto-inertial fusion concepts depends primarily on whether the modified instability structure is more stable than standard azimuthally correlated MRT instabilities. In this manuscript, we discuss the evolution of the helix-like instability observed on premagnetized liners. While a first principles explanation of this observation remains elusive, recent 3D simulations suggest that if a small amplitude helical perturbation can be seeded on the liner's outer surface, no further influence from the axial field is required for the instability to grow.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Microwave magnetic dynamics in highly conducting magnetic nanostructures

We performed low-noise broadband microstrip ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measurements of the resonant modes of an array of metallic ferromagnetic nanostripes. In addition to a strong signal of the fundamental mode, we observed up to five weak-amplitude peaks in the field-resolved FMR traces, depending on the frequency. These higher-order absorption peaks have been theoretically identified as due to resonant excitation of odd and even standing spin waves across the direction of confinement in array plane (i.e., across the stripe width). The theory we developed suggests that the odd modes become excited in the spatially uniform microwave field of the FMR setup due to the large conductivity of metals. This promotes excitation of large-amplitude eddy currents in the sample by the incident microwave magnetic field and ultimately results in excitation of these modes. Following this theory, we found that the eddy current contribution is present only for patterned materials and when the microwave magnetic field is incident on one surface of sample surface, as it is in the case of a microstrip FMR.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Conceptual design of the gamma-to-electron magnetic spectrometer for the National Ignition Facility

The Gamma-to-Electron Magnetic Spectrometer (GEMS) diagnostic is designed to measure the prompt γ-ray energy spectrum during high yield deuterium-tritium (DT) implosions at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The prompt γ-ray spectrum will provide “burn-averaged” observables, including total DT fusion yield, total areal density (ρR), ablator ρR, and fuel ρR. These burn-averaged observables are unique because they are essentially averaged over 4π, providing a global reference for the line-of-sight-specific measurements typical of x-ray and neutron diagnostics. The GEMS conceptual design meets the physics-based requirements: ΔE/E = 3%–5% can be achieved in the range of 2–25 MeV γ-ray energy. Minimum DT neutron yields required for 15% measurement uncertainty at low-resolution mode are: 5 × 10{sup 14} DT-n for ablator ρR (at 0.2 g/cm{sup 2}); 2 × 10{sup 15} DT-n for total DT yield (at 4.2 × 10{sup −5} γ/n); and 1 × 10{sup 16} DT-n for fuel ρR (at 1 g/cm{sup 2})

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Direct measurements of ion dynamics in collisional magnetic presheaths

Ion velocities and temperatures are measured in the presheath of a grounded plate downstream from an argon helicon plasma source using laser-induced fluorescence (P{sub rf}≈450→750 W, T{sub e}=2.5→5 eV, T{sub i}=0.1→0.6 eV, n{sub 0}≈1×10{sup 12}cm{sup −3}, p{sub n}=1→6.5 mTorr, λ=0.3→2 cm, ρ{sub i}≈ 0.5 cm). The plate is held 16°→60° relative to the 1 kG background axial magnetic field. The velocity profiles are compared to a 1D fluid model similar to those presented by Riemann [Phys. Plasmas 1, 552 (1994)] and Ahedo [Phys. Plasmas 4, 4419 (1997)] for the 1 mTorr dataset and are shown to agree well. The model is sensitive to parameters such as collision and ionization frequencies and simplified models, such one presented by Chodura [Phys. Fluids 25, 1628 (1982)], are shown to be inaccurate. E{sup →}×B{sup →} flows as large as 40% of c{sub s} at the sheath edge are inferred. Definitions for the term “magnetic presheath” and implications for ion flow to tokamak divertors and Hall thruster walls are discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Quantitative prediction of radio frequency induced local heating derived from measured magnetic field maps in magnetic resonance imaging: A phantom validation at 7 T

Electrical Properties Tomography (EPT) technique utilizes measurable radio frequency (RF) coil induced magnetic fields (B1 fields) in a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system to quantitatively reconstruct the local electrical properties (EP) of biological tissues. Information derived from the same data set, e.g., complex numbers of B1 distribution towards electric field calculation, can be used to estimate, on a subject-specific basis, local Specific Absorption Rate (SAR). SAR plays a significant role in RF pulse design for high-field MRI applications, where maximum local tissue heating remains one of the most constraining limits. The purpose of the present work is to investigate the feasibility of such B1-based local SAR estimation, expanding on previously proposed EPT approaches. To this end, B1 calibration was obtained in a gelatin phantom at 7 T with a multi-channel transmit coil, under a particular multi-channel B1-shim setting (B1-shim I). Using this unique set of B1 calibration, local SAR distribution was subsequently predicted for B1-shim I, as well as for another B1-shim setting (B1-shim II), considering a specific set of parameter for a heating MRI protocol consisting of RF pulses plaid at 1% duty cycle. Local SAR results, which could not be directly measured with MRI, were subsequently converted into temperature change which in turn were validated against temperature changes measured by MRI Thermometry based on the proton chemical shift.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Effects of magnetic islands on drift wave instability

Magnetic islands have been implemented in the gyrokinetic toroidal code to study the effects of the islands on microturbulence. The pressure profile flattening is verified in the simulation with the islands. Simulations of ion temperature gradient instability find that different toroidal modes are linearly coupled together and that toroidal spectra become broader when the island width increases. The real frequencies and growth rates of different toroidal modes approach each other with the averaged value independent of the island width. The linear mode structures are enhanced at the island separatrices and weakened at the island centers, consistent with the flattening of the pressure profile inside the islands.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Ternary superlattice boosting interface-stabilized magnetic chirality

In cobalt-nickel multilayers grown on iridium surfaces, magnetic homo-chirality can be stabilized by Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions (DMI) at the interface with the substrate. When thickness of the multilayers is increased beyond threshold values, then non-chiral bulk properties exceed interface contributions and this type of chirality vanishes. Here, we use spin-polarized low energy electron microscopy to measure these thickness thresholds, and we determine estimates of the strength of the DMI from the measurements. Even though the same 5d heavy metal is used as a substrate, a remarkably large variation is found between the two 3d magnets: our results indicate that the strength of the DMI at Co/Ir interfaces is three times larger than at Ni/Ir interfaces. We show how this finding provides ways to extend interfacial-DMI stabilization of domain wall chirality to 3d/5d/3d ternary multilayers such as [Ni/Ir/Co]{sub n}. Such strategies may extend chirality-control to larger film thickness and a wider range of substrates, which may be useful for designing new spintronics devices.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Multiferroic tunnel junctions and ferroelectric control of magnetic state at interface (invited)

As semiconductor devices reach ever smaller dimensions, the challenge of power dissipation and quantum effect place a serious limit on the future device scaling. Recently, a multiferroic tunnel junction (MFTJ) with a ferroelectric barrier sandwiched between two ferromagnetic electrodes has drawn enormous interest due to its potential applications not only in multi-level data storage but also in electric field controlled spintronics and nanoferronics. Here, we present our investigations on four-level resistance states, giant tunneling electroresistance (TER) due to interfacial magnetoelectric coupling, and ferroelectric control of spin polarized tunneling in MFTJs. Coexistence of large tunneling magnetoresistance and TER has been observed in manganite/(Ba, Sr)TiO{sub 3}/manganite MFTJs at low temperatures and room temperature four-resistance state devices were also obtained. To enhance the TER for potential logic operation with a magnetic memory, La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3}/BaTiO{sub 3}/La{sub 0.5}Ca{sub 0.5}MnO{sub 3} /La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3} MFTJs were designed by utilizing a bilayer tunneling barrier in which BaTiO{sub 3} is ferroelectric and La{sub 0.5}Ca{sub 0.5}MnO{sub 3} is close to ferromagnetic metal to antiferromagnetic insulator phase transition. The phase transition occurs when the ferroelectric polarization is reversed, resulting in an increase of TER by two orders of magnitude. Tunneling magnetoresistance can also be controlled by the ferroelectric polarization reversal, indicating strong magnetoelectric coupling at the interface.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Numerical simulation of cathode plasma dynamics in magnetically insulated vacuum transmission lines

A novel algorithm for the simulation of cathode plasmas in particle-in-cell codes is described and applied to investigate cathode plasma evolution in magnetically insulated transmission lines (MITLs). The MITL electron sheath is modeled by a fully kinetic electron species. Electron and ion macroparticles, both modeled as fluid species, form a dense plasma which is initially localized at the cathode surface. Energetic plasma electron particles can be converted to kinetic electrons to resupply the electron flux at the plasma edge (the “effective” cathode). Using this model, we compare results for the time evolution of the cathode plasma and MITL electron flow with a simplified (isothermal) diffusion model. Simulations in 1D show a slow diffusive expansion of the plasma from the cathode surface. But in multiple dimensions, the plasma can expand much more rapidly due to anomalous diffusion caused by an instability due to the strong coupling of a transverse magnetic mode in the electron sheath with the expanding resistive plasma layer.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

The hyperfine structure in the rotational spectra of D{sub 2}{sup 17}O and HD{sup 17}O: Confirmation of the absolute nuclear magnetic shielding scale for oxygen

Guided by theoretical predictions, the hyperfine structures of the rotational spectra of mono- and bideuterated-water containing {sup 17}O have been experimentally investigated. To reach sub-Doppler resolution, required to resolve the hyperfine structure due to deuterium quadrupole coupling as well as to spin-rotation (SR) and dipolar spin-spin couplings, the Lamb-dip technique has been employed. The experimental investigation and in particular, the spectral analysis have been supported by high-level quantum-chemical computations employing coupled-cluster techniques and, for the first time, a complete experimental determination of the hyperfine parameters involved was possible. The experimentally determined {sup 17}O spin-rotation constants of D{sub 2}{sup 17}O and HD{sup 17}O were used to derive the paramagnetic part of the corresponding nuclear magnetic shielding constants. Together with the computed diamagnetic contributions as well as the vibrational and temperature corrections, the latter constants have been employed to confirm the oxygen nuclear magnetic shielding scale, recently established on the basis of spin-rotation data for H{sub 2}{sup 17}O [Puzzarini et al., J. Chem. Phys. 131, 234304 (2009)].

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Explosive magnetic reconnection caused by an X-shaped current-vortex layer in a collisionless plasma

A mechanism for explosive magnetic reconnection is investigated by analyzing the nonlinear evolution of a collisionless tearing mode in a two-fluid model that includes the effects of electron inertia and temperature. These effects cooperatively enable a fast reconnection by forming an X-shaped current-vortex layer centered at the reconnection point. A high-resolution simulation of this model for an unprecedentedly small electron skin depth d{sub e} and ion-sound gyroradius ρ{sub s}, satisfying d{sub e}=ρ{sub s}, shows an explosive tendency for nonlinear growth of the tearing mode, where it is newly found that the explosive widening of the X-shaped layer occurs locally around the reconnection point with the length of the X shape being shorter than the domain length and the wavelength of the linear tearing mode. The reason for the onset of this locally enhanced reconnection is explained theoretically by developing a novel nonlinear and nonequilibrium inner solution that models the local X-shaped layer, and then matching it to an outer solution that is approximated by a linear tearing eigenmode with a shorter wavelength than the domain length. This theoretical model proves that the local reconnection can release the magnetic energy more efficiently than the global one and the estimated scaling of the explosive growth rate agrees well with the simulation results.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

The electron forewake: Shadowing and drift-energization as flowing magnetized plasma encounters an obstacle

Flow of magnetized plasma past an obstacle creates a traditional wake, but also a forewake region arising from shadowing of electrons. The electron forewakes resulting from supersonic flows past insulating and floating-potential obstacles are explored with 2D electrostatic particle-in-cell simulations, using a physical ion to electron mass ratio. Drift-energization is discovered to give rise to modifications to the electron velocity-distribution, including a slope-reversal, providing a novel drive of forewake instability. The slope-reversal is present at certain locations in all the simulations, and appears to be quite robustly generated. Wings of enhanced electron density are observed in some of the simulations, also associated with drift-energization. In the simulations with a floating-potential obstacle, the specific potential structure behind that obstacle allows fast electrons to cross the wake, giving rise to a more traditional shadowing-driven two-stream instability. Fluctuations associated with such instability are observed in the simulations, but this instability-mechanism is expected to be more sensitive to the plasma parameters than that associated with the slope-reversal.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Excitons in coupled type-II double quantum wells under electric and magnetic fields: InAs/AlSb/GaSb

We calculate the wave functions and the energy levels of an exciton in double quantum wells under electric (F) and magnetic (B) fields along the growth axis. The result is employed to study the energy levels, the binding energy, and the boundary on the F–B plane of the phase between the indirect exciton ground state and the semiconductor ground state for several typical structures of the type-II quasi-two-dimensional quantum wells such as InAs/AlSb/GaSb. The inter-well inter-band radiative transition rates are calculated for exciton creation and recombination. We find that the rates are modulated over several orders of magnitude by the electric and magnetic fields.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗