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A compact multi-energy soft x-ray diagnostic is being installed on the W Environment in Steady-state Tokamak (WEST), which was designed and built to test ITER-like tungsten plasma facing components in a long pulse (∼1000 s) scenario. The diagnostic consists of a pinhole camera fielded with the PILATUS3 photon-counting Si-based detector (≲100 kpixel). The detector has sensitivity in the range 1.6–30 keV and enables energy discrimination, providing a higher energy resolution than conventional systems with metal foils and diodes with adequate space and time resolution (≲1 cm and 2 ms). The lower-absorption cut-off energy is set independently on each one of the ∼100 kpixels, providing a unique opportunity to measure simultaneously the plasma emissivity in multiple energy ranges and deduce a variety of plasma parameters (e.g., Te, nZ, and ΔZeff). The energy dependence of each pixel is calibrated here over the range 3–22 keV. The detector is exposed to a variety of monochromatic sources—fluorescence emission from metallic targets—and for each pixel, the lower energy threshold is scanned to calibrate the energy dependence. The data are fit to a responsivity curve ("S-curve") that determines the mapping between the possible detector settings and the energy response for each pixel. Here, the calibration is performed for three energy ranges: low (2.3–6 keV), medium (4.5–13.5 keV), and high (5.4–21 keV). We determine the achievable energy resolutions for the low, medium, and high energy ranges as 330 eV, 640 eV, and 950 eV, respectively. The main limitation for the energy resolution is found to be the finite width of the S-curve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multi-energy hard x-ray pin-hole camera based on the PILATUS3 X 100K-M CdTe detector has been developed at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory for installation on the Tungsten Environment in Steady State Tokamak. This camera will be employed to study thermal plasma features such as electron temperature as well as non-thermal effects such as fast electron tails produced by a lower hybrid radiofrequency current drive and the birth of runaway electrons. The innovative aspect of the system lies in the possibility of setting the threshold energy independently for each of the ∼100k pixels of the detector. This feature allows for the measurement of the x-ray emission in multiple energy ranges with adequate space and time resolution (∼1 cm, 2 ms) and coarse energy resolution. In this work, the energy dependence of each pixel was calibrated within the range 15 keV–100 keV using a tungsten x-ray tube and emission from a variety of fluorescence targets (from yttrium to uranium). The data corresponding to pairs of Kα emission lines are fit to the characteristic responsivity ("S-curve"), which describes the detector sensitivity across the 64 possible energy threshold values for each pixel; this novel capability is explored by fine-tuning the voltage of a six-bit digital-analog converter after the charge-sensitive amplifier for each of the ∼100k pixels. This work presents the results of the calibration including a statistical analysis. It was found that the achievable energy resolution is mainly limited by the width of the S-curve to 3 keV–10 keV for threshold energies up to 50 keV, and to ≥20 keV for energies above 60 keV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A vacuum-compatible photon-counting hybrid pixel detector has been installed in the ultra-high vacuum reflectometer of the four-crystal monochromator beamline of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt at the electron storage ring BESSY II in Berlin, Germany. The setup is based on the PILATUS3 100K module. The detector can be used in the entire photon energy range accessible at the beamline from 1.75 keV to 10 keV. Complementing the already installed vacuum-compatible PILATUS 1M detector used for small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) and grazing incidence SAXS, it is possible to access larger scattering angles. The water-cooled module is located on the goniometer arm and can be positioned from −90° to 90° with respect to the incoming beam at a distance of about 200 mm from the sample. To perform absolute scattering experiments, the linearity, homogeneity, and angular dependence of the quantum efficiency, including their relative uncertainties, have been investigated. In addition, the first results of the performance in wide-angle x-ray scattering, x-ray diffraction, and x-ray reflectometry are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High resolution magnetic force microscopy with in situ applied field is used for determining the switching field distribution (SFD) and hysteresis loop of the islands. It is shown that the coercivity is reduced and the width of the SFD is increased for the smallest islands, suggesting that they would not be well suited to data storage applications.

E-beam lithography has been used to pattern a continuous Co/Pt multilayer film with perpendicular anisotropy into circular islands of various sizes down to 25 nm diameter on a 60 nm pitch. High resolution magnetic force microscopy with in situ applied field has been used to directly determine the switching field distribution (SFD) and hysteresis loop of the islands. For the smallest islands, the coercivity is reduced and the width of the SFD is increased, indicating that they would not be well suited to data storage applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synchrotron radiation facility 'Solaris' is currently being built in Krakow, Poland. The first experimental beamline at Solaris will use bending magnet radiation and two exchangeable end stations: a spectroscopic X-ray photoemission electron microscope and a soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy chamber. We present the beamline specifications and exemplary results obtained with our end station microscope, which ( in statu nascendi of Solaris) has been operated at the NanoXAS beamline in the Swiss Light Source. The end stations should be available for a broad user community at Solaris in 2016. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To investigate the possibility of manipulating the surface chemical properties of finely dispersed metal films through ferroelectric polarization, the interaction of palladium with oppositely poled LiNbO3(0001) substrates was characterized. Low energy ion scattering indicated that the Pd tended to form three-dimensional clusters on both positively and negatively poled substrates even at the lowest coverages. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed an upward shift in the binding energy of the Pd 3d core levels of 0.9eV at the lowest Pd coverages, which slowly decayed toward the bulk value with increasing Pd coverage. These shifts were independent of the poling direction of the substrate and similar to those attributed to cluster size effects on inert supports. Thus, the spectroscopic data suggested that Pd does not interact strongly with LiNbO3 surfaces. The surface chemical properties of the Pd clusters were investigated using CO temperature programmed desorption. On both positively and negatively poled substrates, CO desorption from freshly deposited Pd showed a splitting of the broad 460K desorption peak characteristic of bulk Pd into distinct peaks at 270 and 490K as the Pd coverage was decreased below 1.0ML; behavior that also resembles that seen on inert supports. It was found that a small fraction of the adsorbed CO may dissociate (<2%) for Pd on both positively and negatively poled substrates. The thermal response of the smaller Pd clusters on the LiNbO3 surfaces, however, was different from that of inert substrates. In a manner similar to Nb2O5, when CO desorption experiments were carried out a second time, the adsorption capacity decreased and the higher temperature desorption peak shifted from 490K to below 450K. This behavior was independent of the substrate poling direction. Thus, while there was evidence that LiNbO3 does not behave as a completely inert support, no significant differences between positively and negatively poled surfaces were observed. This lack of sensitivity of the surface properties of the Pd to the poling direction of the substrate is attributed to the three-dimensional Pd clusters being too thick for their surfaces to be influenced by the polarization of the underlying substrate. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In superconducting Co/Pt–Nb–Co/Pt multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, the superconducting transition temperature Tc is considerably higher in the parallel (P) orientation of the two Co/Pt magnetizations compared to the antiparallel (AP) orientation. Low temperature magnetic-force microscopy reveals that the individual ferromagnetic layers are uniformly magnetized in both configurations and do not exhibit a magnetic stray field arising from a multidomain state. We also demonstrate that the difference ΔTc=TcP-TcAP between both Tc values is enhanced at higher transport currents due to the increasing imbalance of spin-polarized charge carriers in the superconducting Nb layer. Hence, the spin switch can be controlled by the transport current in future superconducting devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air oxidation of chromium films is investigated as an alternative technique for making chromium (III, IV) oxides junctions, of interest for magnetoelectronics applications. Characterization of the surface by angle-resolved X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (ARXPS) shows that a surface layer of insulating Cr2O3 is covering metallic CrO2. The phase separation of the two types of oxides is more pronounced after increased oxidation. Low-temperature electric transport curve confirms the zero-bias anomaly observed in the past on oxidized chromium junctions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Metal thin-film deposition, over the Cr[sub 2]O[sub 3] surface of CrO[sub 2] thin-film substrates, exhibits a redox reaction at the interface. The transition metal forms an oxide in combination with the reduction of the near-surface chromium oxide to Cr[sub 2]O[sub 3]. The insulating barrier layer Cr[sub 2]O[sub 3] increases with the formation of Pb[sub 3]O[sub 4] in Pb/Cr[sub 2]O[sub 3]/CrO[sub 2] and CoO in Co/Cr[sub 2]O[sub 3]/CrO[sub 2] junctions, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate in situ 90° electric field-induced uniform magnetization rotation in single domain submicron ferromagnetic islands grown on a ferroelectric single crystal using x-ray photoemission electron microscopy. The experimental findings are well correlated with micromagnetic simulations, showing that the reorientation occurs by the strain-induced magnetoelectric interaction between the ferromagnetic nanostructures and the ferroelectric crystal. Specifically, the ferroelectric domain structure plays a key role in determining the response of the structure to the applied electric field, resulting in three strain-induced regimes of magnetization behavior for the single domain islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The purpose of this work was to investigate the interest of rabbits for studying pharmacology and toxicology of dietary nitrate. Twenty-one females were given 1, 300 and 600mg/l nitrate in drinking water for 11 weeks. Saliva and blood were analysed for nitrate/nitrite. There is a linear relationship between the amounts of nitrate ingested and amount of nitrate in saliva, contrary to what is observed in rats. However, salivary nitrite concentrations remain low, and nitrate reductase activity in the oral cavity of the rabbit seems very weak. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Macroscopic ferroelectric order in α-GeTe with its noncentrosymmetric lattice structure leads to a giant Rashba spin splitting in the bulk bands due to strong spin-orbit interaction. Direct measurements of the bulk band structure using soft x-ray angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) reveals the three-dimensional electronic structure with spindle torus shape. By combining high-resolution and spin-resolved ARPES as well as photoemission calculations, the bulk electronic structure is disentangled from the two-dimensional surface electronic structure by means of surface capping, which quenches the complex surface electronic structure. This unravels the bulk Rashba-split states in the ferroelectric Rashba α-GeTe(111) semiconductor exhibiting a giant spin splitting with Rashba parameter αR around 4.2 eV Å, the highest of so-far known materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on in-plane magnetic anisotropy in epitaxial bcc Co/Fe(110) bilayers on W(110). The magnetic surface anisotropy in the Co/Fe(110) bilayers exhibited a strong nonmonotonic dependence on Co coverage. Magneto-optical studies revealed a sharp maximum of the magnetic surface anisotropy, 2.44mJ/m², at dCo=5Å. This giant interfacial magnetic anisotropy allowed a small fraction of a Co monolayer to reorient the magnetization of the bulk-like Fe film. We conclude that the mono- and double-layer bcc Co(110) exhibited in-plane magnetic anisotropy with a [110] easy axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]