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A scanning-electron-microscope (SEM)-based technique is presented for the local measurement of electric field. Results suggest the capability of the proposed technique in measuring the actual profiles which reflect local material variations and contact-related phenomena.

The Railgun Diagnostics Group of The Applied Physical Electronics Research Center at The University of Texas at Arlington has been investigating railgun plasma armatures in a variety of operating conditions and developing new techniques and a data-base for such studies. This paper discusses the basic assumptions and their limitations in using plasma spectroscopy to study the conditions in railgun plasma armatures and describes our data-base for such spectroscopic studies. We also describe a multi-input space-resolved spectroscopy system that we have developed for the efficient study of railgun plasma armatures. In addition, we have presented the preliminary results for RGS-II. By using a new spectroscopic technique, we have measured the plasma temperature of 1.2 x 10 to the fourth power degree Kelvin and an electron density of 3.7 x 10 to the sixteenth power cm to negative three power in the railgun plasma armature.

Plasmonic devices are capable of efficiently confining and enhancing optical fields, serving as a bridge between the realm of diffraction-limited optics and the nanoscale. Specifically, a plasmonic device can be used to locally heat a recording medium for data storage. Ideally, the recording medium would consist of individually addressable and non-interacting entities, a configuration that has been regarded as the ultimate future hard-drive technology. Here, we describe a plasmonic nano-antenna that is fully integrated into a magnetic recording head and its use for thermally assisted magnetic recording on both continuous and fully-ordered patterned media using nanosecond pulses in a static tester configuration. In the case of patterned media at 1.5 Pb m−2 (∼1 Tb inch−2) with 24-nm track pitch, we show ideally written bits without disturbing neighbouring tracks. We find a dramatic improvement in track width and optical efficiency compared to continuous media and show that this is largely due to advantageous near-field optical effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extraordinary Magnetoresistance devices with critical dimensions below 50 nm have been developed in InAs 2-D electron gas (2DEG) quantum well heterostructures, and show the same magnetic sensitivity as Giant Magnetoresistance magnetic recording sensors. A new device design, in which fingers of metal extend into the semiconductor mesa to form leads, yields higher signal and operating currents than the more conventional design with semiconductor tab contacts. Devices built with the 2DEG very close to the surface yield high-signal and high-current carrying capacity, as required for scanning probe and magnetic recording applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]