Fluorescence enhancement from plasmonic Au templates

We have fabricated sub-quarter-micron-patterned Au templates with electron beam lithography, and studied their effect on the fluorescence intensity of immobilized, anti-rabbit IgG antibody labeled with AlexaFluor® 546. Varying the geometry of the structured surface, the plasmon resonances are tuned to match the fluorescence wavelengths and achieve significant fluorescence enhancement. Full electrodynamic simulations were used to understand the optical response and access the quality of the fabricated structures for surface plasmon excitation.     

Media for high density magnetic recording

Longitudinal recording is limited at high bit densities by recording demagnetization, self-demagnetization, and adjacent-bit demagnetization, which occur during the writing-demagnetization processes. To minimize these adverse effects it becomes necessary to resort to extreme scaling of the media parameters and their thickness, with the consequence of greatly increasing the difficulty of fabrication and the cost of such optimized media. Pure perpendicular recording circumvents these writing and demagnetization problems because of the strong head coupling of a single pole head with a double layer medium, positive interaction between adjacent bits, and low self-demagnetization at high bit densities. Therefore, it does not require any extreme scaling of the media magnetic parameters and their thickness. Of great interest, at least for the next several years, are the quasi-perpendicular particulate media which can support perpendicular magnetization. These include the isotropic, high-squareness media, and oriented perpendicular media employing particles with uniaxial crystalline or shape anisotropies. The attractiveness of these media derives from their excellent recording performance and from the fact that they preserve the existing head/media interface and they utilize existing coating facilities which should reflect favorably on their cost. In this paper the advantages and disadvantages of the various media under development for high density magnetic recording are compared, and predictions are made for their potential application in future systems.     

The promise of new particulate media for high density recording

The superiority of perpendicular recording derives from the very low demagnetization at high bit densities, and from the nearly perfect writing process when a single pole head is used in combination with a double layer medium. Recent experiments have shown that it is possible to record very high densities in the longitudinal recording mode by scaling down all the critical parameters to extremely small values. However, such extreme scaling will very likely be accompanied by some very difficult problems from the point of view of media imperfections, defects, yields and costs. The power of perpendicular recording derives in part from the ability to attain these very high bit densities without resort to extreme scaling of the critical system parameters. There is little doubt that in the long run perpendicular recording will predominate because of its superior performance derived from the advantages stated above. For the next several years, however, we have to look to new and improved particulate media (to satisfy the majority of the demands) which can be fabricated by using existing large capacity continuous web coating facilities. The best choice for satisfying the requirements of these tape-related large volume applications is to utilize the new particulate media which support a large degree of perpendicular magnetization (isotropic-high squareness, and perpendicular anisotropy particulate dispersions) rather than employing very high coercivity longitudianally optimized particulate media.     

Joining of C<Subscript>f</Subscript>/SiC Ceramics to Nimonic Alloys

C_f/SiC ceramic composites have been brazed to Nimonic alloys using TiCuAg filler metal. In order to improve wettability and to provide compatibility between ceramic and metal, the C_f/SiC surface was metallized through the deposition of a chromium layer. Subsequent heat treatments were carried out to develop intermediate layers of chromium carbides. Excellent wetting of both the composite ceramic and the metal from the filler metal is observed in the fabricated joints. Shear tests show that failure occurs always within the ceramic material and not at the joint. In the filler region depletion of Ti and formation of Ag and Cu rich regions are observed. At the C_f/SiC-filler interface a layered structure of the filler metallic elements is observed. Titanium interacts with the SiC matrix to form carbides and silicides.     

Advanced Magnetic Metrology Instrumentation

1. Advancements in Vibrating Sample Magnetometers (VSMs)The VSM is the basic instrument for characterizing magnetic materials as a function of magneticfield and temperature. Its simplicity, versatility andspeed have made it the instrument of choice for bothlaboratory and production environments, ever sinceits invention some forty years ago. Recent advancements in magnetic materials, particularly for the datastorage industry, have imposed new demands on theperformance of VSM systems. They …     

Brazing of carbon–carbon composites to Nimonic alloys

Industrially produced C_f/C ceramic composites have been brazed to Nimonic alloys using a TiCuSil filler metal. Ιn order to accommodate the different linear coefficients of expansion between ceramic and metal as well as to provide compatibility between the surfaces to be joined, the C_f/C surface was metallized through the deposition of a chromium layer. Subsequent heat treatments were carried out to develop intermediate layers of chromium carbides. Crack-free joints have been produced and shear tests show that failure occurs within the composite. At the C_f/C-filler interface a layered structure of the metallic elements is observed. Titanium is depleted from the filler zone and interacts with the carbon to form carbides. In the filler region, Ag and Cu rich regions are formed.     

Magnetic recording theories: Accomplishments and unresolved problems

The published theoretical treatments on the magnetic recording process are reviewed with particular emphasis on the validity of the models and the assumptions on which they are based. It is concluded that the existing theories fairly well describe the geometrical aspects of recording-transducer to medium spacing and gap lengths-but are deficient in describing analytically the magnetic state of the recording medium before and after demagnetization. Calculated magnetization distributions by harmonic analysis for different recording media are in support of the fact that the usually assumed linear and arctangent magnetization transitions are only rough approximations of the magnetic state of a recording medium between regions of opposite magnetization. Additional shortcomings of our theoretical understanding are indicated by the assumptions of uniform magnetization through the recording medium thickness, neglecting the perpendicular component of the magnetization, and not taking into account finite track widths and magnetostatic interactions between adjacent transitions.     

Head-to-media spacing losses in perpendicular recording

The perpendicular recording process is essentially demagnetization-free at high bit densities, and the head-to-medium spacing losses become perhaps the most constraining factor in realizing the ultimate capabilities of this technology. In this study we investigated the recording losses resulting from head-to-medium spacing for a double layer madium using a single-pole head and a narrow gap ring head. The spacing was introduced by sputtering Ti overlayers onto the CoCr film in the range of 0.02 microns to 0.18 microns. The recording experiments were performed using a tape deck and a closed tape loop running at low speed. For a spacing d and a wavelength λ, the spacing loss when writing and reading with the single pole head was found to be -99d/λ (dB) for any bit density up to 4Kbpmm (kilo-bits per mm). The spacing losses for the ring head, however, depend on bit density, and are much larger at lower bit densities. In an attempt to separate the writing from the reading spacing losses, we recorded with the single pole head and read back with the ring head. The results of this experiment show that the large spacing losses observed with a ring head at the lower bit densities are primarily incurred during the writing process.     

An investigation of separation losses in high-speed, high-density recording tapes

The trend in digital tape recording is toward larger storage capacity and faster accessing, which necessitate packing information at greater densities on tapes moving at higher speeds. The losses that inevitably arise from the finite separation between the head and the moving tape become much more serious as the length of the magnetized regions in the tape is reduced and as the relative velocity of head and tape is increased. The purpose of this paper was to investigate experimentally the dependence of separation losses on bit density and head gap length, and to distinguish from the reading losses those losses introduced during the writing process. Briefly, results showed that, for the heads and tapes used in the experiment, virtually all the losses could be attributed to the reading process. Furthermore, writing with a wide gap head and reading back with the four heads established that the percentage reading losses as a function of separation were apparently the same whatever reading head was used.