Anisotropy fields in excess of 120 kA/m (1500 Oe) have been produced in 3–5-nm-thick polycrystalline films of Co by oblique sputtering of Ta underlayers. The unusually high anisotropy is magnetostatic in origin and is induced by corrugations on the surface of an obliquely sputtered Ta underlayer. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy reveals 4 nm columnar grains of Ta tilted toward the Ta source and elongated perpendicular to the Ta flux in the film plane. The anisotropy field of the Co film increases with both the underlayer thickness and the angle between the Ta source and the film normal. In spin valve samples, the anisotropy is attenuated by more than an order of magnitude across a 4-nm-thick Cu spacer. Magnetoresistance measurements on a spin valve indicate less than 2° dispersion in hard axis directions, and despite the nanometer-scale roughness of the underlayer there is weak broadening of the ferromagnetic resonance line.

Each year, billions of dollars of vaccines are stored in refrigerators at the facilities of a variety of medical providers. Many vaccines must be maintained in the range 2 °C to 8 °C to retain product potency. We have tested the performance of two types of refrigerators to determine if these refrigerators are suitable to this task, and to identify proper storage and temperature monitoring methods. Nineteen calibrated Type T thermocouples, distributed through the refrigerator interior, served as reference thermometers. Attachment of thermocouples directly to vaccine vials gave accurate measurements of the vaccine temperature, which often differed from the air or interior wall temperatures during door openings or defrost cycles. A household type dual-zone refrigerator/freezer [refrigerator compartment capacity = 0.400 m 3 (14.13 cu. ft.)] and a pharmaceutical grade refrigerator [capacity = 0.489 m 3 ] proved fully adequate at maintaining vial temperatures within the desired 2 °C to 8 °C range, independent of how the refrigerator was loaded. Tests of intermittent and continuous door opening and of simulated power outages demonstrated the value of adding water bottles to the door as a thermal ballast in the dual-zone refrigerator model. We tested five electronic data loggers as a means of continuously logging refrigerator temperatures. Properly located, data loggers and temperature monitors accurately monitored vial temperatures for extended periods.

A new humidity generator has been constructed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Once fully operational, the NIST hybrid humidity generator (HHG) will generate frost/dew points from −70 • C to +85 • C using calibration gas-flow rates up to 150 standard liters per minute and is expected to outperform the present humidity generator at NIST in terms of accuracy. The HHG combines the two-pressure and divided-flow humidity-generation techniques (hence, the name "hybrid"). The centerpiece of the HHG is a heat exchanger/saturator that is immersed in a temperature-controlled bath stable to within 1 mK. For dew/frost-point temperatures above −15 • C, the two-pressure principle is employed. For frost points at or below −15 • C, the water-vapor/air mixture is produced by mixing metered streams of moist air produced by the two-pressure method with purified, dry air. A series of performance and validation tests on the HHG in the two-pressure mode, including measurements of temperature gradients and pressure stability in the generator under various operating conditions, and comparison of the humidity generated by the HHG to that generated by the other NIST humidity-generation standards, are reported.

Anisotropy fields in excess of 120 kA/m (1500 Oe) have been produced in 3–5-nm-thick polycrystalline films of Co by oblique sputtering of Ta underlayers. The unusually high anisotropy is magnetostatic in origin and is induced by corrugations on the surface of an obliquely sputtered Ta underlayer. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy reveals 4 nm columnar grains of Ta tilted toward the Ta source and elongated perpendicular to the Ta flux in the film plane. The anisotropy field of the Co film increases with both the underlayer thickness and the angle between the Ta source and the film normal. In spin valve samples, the anisotropy is attenuated by more than an order of magnitude across a 4-nm-thick Cu spacer. Magnetoresistance measurements on a spin valve indicate less than 2° dispersion in hard axis directions, and despite the nanometer-scale roughness of the underlayer there is weak broadening of the ferromagnetic resonance line.