No abstract

Spin injection and accumulation are key phenomena supporting a variety of concepts for spin-electronic devices. These phenomena are expected to be enhanced in nanoparticles over bulk structures due to their discrete energy levels and large charging energies. In this article, precise magnetotransport measurements in the single-electron tunnelling regime are performed by preparing appropriate microfabricated devices containing cobalt nanoparticles. Here we provide experimental evidence for characteristic features of spin accumulation in magnetic nanoparticles, such as oscillations of the magnetoresistance with a periodical sign change as a function of bias voltage. Theoretical analysis of the magnetoresistance behaviour clearly shows that the spin-relaxation time in nanoparticles is highly enhanced in comparison with that in the bulk.

We study electrical properties of metal/Ge contacts with an atomically controlled interface, and compare them with those with a disordered one, where atomically controlled interfaces can be demonstrated by using Fe3Si/Ge(111) contacts. We find that the Schottky barrier height of Fe3Si/n-Ge(111) contacts is unexpectedly lower than those induced by the strong Fermi-level pinning at other metal/n-Ge contacts. For Fe3Si/p-Ge(111) contacts, we identify clear rectifying behavior in I-V characteristics at low temperatures, which is also different from I-V features due to the strong Fermi-level pinning at other metal/p-Ge contacts. These results indicate that there is an extrinsic contribution such as dangling bonds to the Fermi-level pinning effect at the directly connected metal/Ge contacts.

We study the electrical detection of spin accumulation at a ferromagnet-silicon interface, which can be verified by measuring a Hanle effect in three-terminal lateral devices. The device structures used consist of a semiconducting Si channel and a Schottky tunnel contact. In a low currentbias region, the Hanle-effect curves are observed only under forward bias conditions. This can be considered that the electrical detectability at the forward-biased contact is higher than that at the reverse-biased contact. This is possible evidence for the detection of spin-polarized electrons created in a Si channel.

Using high-quality Fe3Si/n + -Ge Schottky-tunnel-barrier contacts, we study spin accumulation in an n-type germanium (n-Ge) channel. In the three-or two-terminal voltage measurements with low bias current conditions at 50 K, Hanle-effect signals are clearly detected only at a forward-biased contact. These are reliable evidence for electrical detection of the spin accumulation created in the n-Ge channel. The estimated spin lifetime in n-Ge at 50 K is one order of magnitude shorter than those in n-Si reported recently. The magnitude of the spin signals cannot be explained by the commonly used spin diffusion model. We discuss a possible origin of the difference between experimental data and theoretical values.

In the present study, we investigated the hydrothermal treatment of titanium with divalent cation solutions and its effect in promoting the adhesion of gingival epithelial cells and fibroblasts in vitro. Gingival keratinocyte-like Sa3 cells or fibroblastic NIH3T3 cells were cultured for 1 h on experimental titanium plates hydrothermally-treated with CaCl2 (Ca) or MgCl2 (Mg) solution, or distilled water (DW). The number and adhesive strengths of attached cells on the substrata were then analyzed. The number of Sa3 cells adhering to the Ca- and Mg-treated plates was significantly larger than in the DW group, but the strength of this adhesion did not differ significantly between groups. In contrast, NIH3T3 cell adhesion number and strength were increased in both the Ca and Mg groups compared to the DW group. Fluorescent microscopic observation indicated that, in all groups, Sa3 had identical expression levels of integrin β4 and development of actin filaments, whereas NIH3T3 cells in the Ca and Mg groups displayed much stronger punctate cytoplasmic signals for vinculin and more bundle-shaped actin filaments than cells in the DW group. As a result, it was indicated that the hydrothermal treatment of titanium with Ca or Mg solution improved the integration of soft tissue cells with the substrata, which may facilitate the development of a soft tissue barrier around the implant.

Gold-platinum alloy appears to be useful material for abutments when considering the accumulation of plaque. However, alternative properties of the abutment material, such as effects on soft tissue healing, should also be taken into consideration when choosing an abutment material.

We demonstrate ultrashallow Ohmic contacts for n-Ge by the Sb δ-doping and low-temperature Ge homoepitaxy. We find that the segregation effect of Sb on Ge(111) is lower than that on Ge(100) for growth temperatures below 400 °C. Consequently, we achieve the δ-doping for Ge(111), having very high concentrations above 1020 cm−3 and abrupt profiles within nanometer-scale widths. By introducing the δ-doping to atomically controlled metal/Ge Schottky contacts, completely symmetric current-voltage characteristics, that is, low-resistivity Ohmic contacts are obtained owing to the effective tunneling conduction through the Schottky barrier.