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We developed micro-liquid enclosure arrays (MLEAs) for holding solution samples in coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) using x-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs). Hundreds of fully isolated micro-liquid enclosures are arranged in a single MLEA chip for efficient measurement, where each enclosure is destroyed after exposure to a single XFEL pulse. A semi-automated MLEA assembling system was also developed to enclose solution samples into MLEAs efficiently at high precision. We performed XFEL-based CDI experiments using MLEAs and imaged in-solution structures of self-assembled gold nanoparticles. The sample hit rate can be optimized by adjusting solution concentration, and we achieved a single-particle hit rate of 31%, which is not far from the theoretical upper limit of 37% derived from the Poisson statistics. MELAs allow us to perform CDI measurement under controlled solution conditions and will help reveal the nanostructures and dynamics of particles in solution.

X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) opened up a possibility for molecular-scale single particle imaging (SPI) without the need for crystallization. In SPI experiments, the orientation of each particle has to be determined from the measured diffraction pattern. Preparing unidirectionally-aligned particles can facilitate the determination of the sample orientation. Here, we show the design principles of a liquid cell for three-dimensional imaging of unidirectionally-aligned particles in solution with XFELs. The liquid cell was designed so that neither incident X-rays nor diffracted X-rays are blocked by the substrate of the liquid cell even at high tilt angles. As a feasibility evaluation, we performed coherent diffraction measurements using the cells with a 1 mm focused XFEL beam. We successfully measured coherent diffraction patterns of a nano-fabricated metal pattern at 701 tilt angle and obtained the reconstructed image by applying iterative phase retrieval. The liquid cell will be usefully applied to molecular-scale SPI by using more tightly focused XFELs. In particular, imaging of membrane proteins embedded in lipid membranes is expected to have an enormous impact on life science and medicine.

The frequency dependence of tunneling magnetocapacitance (TMC) in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) is investigated theoretically and experimentally. According to the calculation based on Debye-Frohlich model combined with Julliere formula, the TMC ratio strongly depends on the frequency and it has the maximum peak at a specific frequency. The calculated frequency dependence of TMC is in good agreement with the experimental results obtained in MgO-based MTJs with a tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio of 108%, which exhibit a large TMC ratio of 155% at room temperature. This calculation also predicts that the TMC ratio can be as large as about 1000% for a spin polarization of 87%, while the TMR ratio is 623% for the same spin polarization. These theoretical and experimental findings provide a deeper understanding on AC spin-dependent transport in the MTJs and will open up wider opportunities for device applications, such as highly sensitive magnetic sensors and impedance-tunable devices.

The frequency dependence of tunneling magnetocapacitance (TMC) in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) is investigated theoretically and experimentally. According to the calculation based on Debye-Frohlich model combined with Julliere formula, the TMC ratio strongly depends on the frequency and it has the maximum peak at a specific frequency. The calculated frequency dependence of TMC is in good agreement with the experimental results obtained in MgO-based MTJs with a tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio of 108%, which exhibit a large TMC ratio of 155% at room temperature. This calculation also predicts that the TMC ratio can be as large as about 1000% for a spin polarization of 87%, while the TMR ratio is 623% for the same spin polarization. These theoretical and experimental findings provide a deeper understanding on AC spin-dependent transport in the MTJs and will open up wider opportunities for device applications, such as highly sensitive magnetic sensors and impedance-tunable devices.