Pump−probe experiments at the TEMPO beamline using the low‐α operation mode of Synchrotron SOLEIL

The SOLEIL synchrotron radiation source is regularly operated in special filling modes dedicated to pump–probe experiments. Among others, the low‐α mode operation is characterized by shorter pulse duration and represents the natural bridge between 50 ps synchrotron pulses and femtosecond experiments. Here, the capabilities in low‐α mode of the experimental set‐ups developed at the TEMPO beamline to perform pump–probe experiments with soft X‐rays based on photoelectron or photon detection are presented. A 282 kHz repetition‐rate femtosecond laser is synchronized with the synchrotron radiation time structure to induce fast electronic and/or magnetic excitations. Detection is performed using a two‐dimensional space resolution plus time resolution detector based on microchannel plates equipped with a delay line. Results of time‐resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, circular dichroism and magnetic scattering experiments are reported, and their respective advantages and limitations in the framework of high‐time‐resolution pump–probe experiments compared and discussed.     

Advances in surface plasmon resonance-based high throughput biochips

This article reviews our recent advances in surface plasmon resonance (SPR) based biochips. It includes four issues, which are the preparation and characterization of high quality gold film, the preparation and characterization of self-assembled monolayer (SAM), dynamics of DNA adsorption on SAMs, and SPRbased microscopies. Numerous topics related to SPR, such as, the modeling of SPR by transmission matrix, effective medium theory, applications of SPR in biology, and SPR-based novel microscopies, are discussed. A novel electrochemical technique, which is extremely useful for the preparation and characterization of high quality SAMs, is also discussed.     

Magneto-transport properties of La0.7Ca0.3MnO3/SrTiO3/La0.7Ce0.3MnO3 tunnel junction

Hole-doped rare-earth manganite La_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃ and the electron-doped manganite La_0.7Ce_0.3MnO₃ both show a metal-insulator transition around 250 K associated with a ferromagnetic transition and colossal magnetoresistance. In an earlier publication we have reported the rectifying characteristic of La_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃/SrTiO₃/La_0.7Ce_0.3MnO₃ tunnel junction at room temperature, showing that it is possible to fabricate a diode out of the polaronic insulator regime of doped manganites. Here we report the magneto-transport properties of such a tunnel junction above and below the metal-insulator transition. We show, from the large positive magnetoresistance of the tunnel junction at low temperature, that La_0.7Ce_0.3MnO₃ could be a minority spin carrier ferromagnet. The implication of this observation is discussed.     

Thermal stability of spin valve sensors using artificial Co/Ir based ferrimagnets

Hard-soft spin valve structures have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy on MgO(0 0 1) substrates. The hard magnetic layer consists of an artificial Co/Ir/Co ferrimagnet system (AFi), while a Fe/Co bilayer from the buffer has been used as a soft detection layer. The Fe layer has been grown at 600°C giving rise to a monocrystalline layer with a BCC structure. Consequently, this layer presents a hard and a easy magnetization axis, respectively, along the BCC [1 1 0] and the [1 0 0] directions. The AFi system presents dramatic differences after successive annealing steps up to 350°C. An increase of the GMR from 3% to 3.5% is observed after annealing at 250°C while the coercive field of the AFi and the GMR plateau are strongly reduced. After further annealing at higher temperature the GMR drops down accompanied with a strong decrease in the antiparallel alignment amount in the AFi system. Rutherford back scattering measurements have been performed to investigate the changes in the interface morphology and to correlate it to the magneto-transport properties.     

Experimental implementation of a concatenated quantum error-correcting code

Concatenated coding provides a general strategy to achieve the desired level of noise protection in quantum information processing. We report the implementation of a concatenated quantum error-correcting code able to correct phase errors with a strong correlated component. The experiment was performed using liquid-state nuclear magnetic resonance techniques on a four spin subsystem of labeled crotonic acid. Our results show that concatenation between active and passive quantum error correction is a practical tool to handle realistic noise involving both independent and correlated errors.     

Infrared camera based on a curved retina

Design of miniature and light cameras requires an optical design breakthrough to achieve good optical performance. Solutions inspired by animals' eyes are the most promising. The curvature of the retina offers several advantages, such as uniform intensity and no field curvature, but this feature is not used. The work presented here is a solution to spherically bend monolithic IR detectors. Compared to state-of-the-art methods, a higher fill factor is obtained and the device fabrication process is not modified. We made an IR eye camera with a single lens and a curved IR bolometer. Images captured are well resolved and have good contrast, and the modulation transfer function shows better quality when comparing with planar systems.