Single-turn Coil Research Articles

Beyond 100 Tesla: Scientific experiments using single-turn coils

Abstract Current opportunities and recent examples for research in magnetic fields well above 100 T using single-turn coils are discussed. After a general introduction into basic principles and technical constraints associated with the generation of Megagauss fields we discuss data obtained at the LNCMI Toulouse, where such fields are routinely used for scientific applications.

Pulsed electromagnetic attraction of sheet metals – Fundamentals and perspective applications

The paper is dedicated to the study of pulsed electromagnetic attraction processes which can deform ferromagnetic sheet metal materials such as low carbon steels using low frequency discharges. The analytical model based upon the solution of Maxwell equations explains that magnetic forces are prevailing over the Lorentz forces for low frequency discharges. For electromagnetic forming (EMF) processes employing ferromagnetic sheet metal blanks of low electrical conductivity with relatively slow electric discharges, the magnetic forces should be taken into account in order to achieve a correct representation of electromagnetic forces applied to the blank. An engineering estimate on the size of magneto-static forces and Lorentz-forces is the outcome of the analytical work. In addition to analytical work and validation of the proposed engineering estimate of attracting forces, a single turn coil is introduced which is more robust than previous designs with multiple frequencies and interrupted discharges. The simplified setup only requires a rather slow single frequency low voltage electric discharge which allows for using cheaper and longer life capacitors, substantially reduces the safety implications and also extends the life of the coil insulation.

Magnetization Studies of Field-Induced Transitions by Using a Single-Turn Coil Technique

Some technical improvements for magnetization measurements using a vertical-type single-turn coil (V-STC) method have been attempted. We have chosen LaCoO3, RbCoBr3 and SrCu2(BO3)2 that show interesting field induced magnetic transitions, as test materials. Intriguing features were clearly observed in magnetic fields of up to 100 T. The quality of the data is of comparable to those obtained by a conventional non-destructive pulse magnet.

Magneto-Absorption in the α Phase of Solid Oxygen at Megagauss Magnetic Fields

Optical absorption spectra of solid oxygen α phase and liquid oxygen were measured in high magnetic fields over 100 T using a single turn coil method. The absorption originates from the bimolecular transition was observed. The spectra strongly reflect the local magnetic interaction between two oxygen molecules. The shape of the absorption spectrum of the α oxygen changed dramatically with increasing magnetic fields, even though the absorption intensity of liquid oxygen simply declined. This difference cannot be explained by only the local magnetic interaction, and we speculate that the field induced lattice distortion plays an important role in the solid oxygen α phase.

Highly ionized physical vapor deposition plasma source working at very low pressure

Highly ionized discharge for physical vapor deposition at very low pressure is presented in the paper. The discharge is generated by electron cyclotron wave resonance (ECWR) which assists with ignition of high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) discharge. The magnetron gun (with Ti target) was built into the single-turn coil RF electrode of the ECWR facility. ECWR assistance provides pre-ionization effect which allows significant reduction of pressure during HiPIMS operation down to p = 0.05 Pa; this is nearly more than an order of magnitude lower than at typical pressure ranges of HiPIMS discharges. We can confirm that nearly all sputtered particles are ionized (only Ti+ and Ti++ peaks are observed in the mass scan spectra). This corresponds well with high plasma density ne ∼ 1018 m−3, measured during the HiPIMS pulse.

Integrated on-chip inductors with electroplated magnetic yokes (invited)

Thin-film ferromagnetic inductors show great potential as the energy storage element for integrated circuits containing on-chip power management. In order to achieve the high energy storage required for power management, on-chip inductors require relatively thick magnetic yoke materials (several microns or more), which can be readily deposited by electroplating through a photoresist mask as demonstrated in this paper, the yoke material of choice being Ni45Fe55, whose properties of relatively high moment and electrical resistivity make it an attractive model yoke material for inductors. Inductors were designed with a variety of yoke geometries, and included both single-turn and multi-turn coil designs, which were fabricated on 200 mm silicon wafers in a CMOS back-end-of-line (BEOL) facility. Each inductor consisted of electroplated copper coils enclosed by the electroplated Ni45Fe55 yokes; aspects of the fabrication of the inductors are discussed. Magnetic properties of the electroplated yoke materials are described, including high frequency permeability measurements. The inductance of 2-turn coil inductors, for example, was enhanced up to about 6 times over the air core equivalent, with an inductance density of 130 nH/mm2 being achieved. The resistance of these non-laminated inductors was relatively large at high frequency due to magnetic and eddy current losses but is expected to improve as the yoke material/structure is further optimized, making electroplated yoke-containing inductors attractive for dc-dc power converters.

Precise Magnetization Measurements by Parallel Self-Compensated Induction Coils in a Vertical Single-Turn Coil up to 103 T

We have developed a magnetization measurement technique for use in a vertically aligned single-turn coil. Compensation ratios of an order as high as 10 -4 were achieved by self-compensation in parallel twin-pickup coils without using the electronic compensation circuit mixing of the signal from an auxiliary coil. High performance cryogenics was employed with a liquid Helium container that was also manufactured to fit the system. The high-magnetic-field magnetization measurements were applied to a manganite Bi 0.5 Ca 0.5 MnO 3 at room temperature, and also to a geometrically frustrated spinel oxide, CdCr 2 O 4 at very low temperatures. Not only the transition field, but also the absolute value of the magnetization was shown to be evaluated within a 3% degree of accuracy in magnetic fields of up to 103 T by means of a 14-mm inner-diameter single-turn coil.

Direct EPR irradiation of a sample using a quartz oscillator operating at 250 MHz for EPR measurements

Direct irradiation of a sample using a quartz oscillator operating at 250 MHz was performed for EPR measurements. Because a quartz oscillator is a frequency fixed oscillator, the operating frequency of an EPR resonator (loop-gap type) was tuned to that of the quartz oscillator by using a single-turn coil with a varactor diode attached (frequency shift coil). Because the frequency shift coil was mobile, the distance between the EPR resonator and the coil could be changed. Coarse control of the resonant frequency was achieved by changing this distance mechanically, while fine frequency control was implemented by changing the capacitance of the varactor electrically. In this condition, EPR measurements of a phantom (comprised of agar with a nitroxide radical and physiological saline solution) were made. To compare the presented method with a conventional method, the EPR measurements were also done by using a synthesizer at the same EPR frequency. In the conventional method, the noise level increased at high irradiation power. Because such an increase in the noise was not observed in the presented method, high sensitivity was obtained at high irradiation power.

Modular Eddy Current Micro Sensor

In order to provide a contactless measurement technique to examine products during the fabrication process, a modular design of an eddy current micro sensor was developed and fabricated in thin-film technology. The sensor consists of two parts, a single-turn excitation coil and an anisotropic magneto-resistance (AMR) sensor. The AMR sensor detects the change of the magnetic field induced in a sample by the excitation coil. Initial investigations were conducted to prove the capability of the completed eddy current micro sensor. A defect was created on the surface of a Cu probe. The electrical output signal of the AMR sensor was subsequently compared to optical measurements of the surface profile of the crack. There is a high correlation between the optical measurements and to those of the eddy current micro sensor.

Fusion Nuclear Science Facility (FNSF) before Upgrade to Component Test Facility (CTF)

The compact (R0~1.2-1.3m) Fusion Nuclear Science Facility (FNSF) is aimed at providing a fully integrated, continuously driven fusion nuclear environment of copious fusion neutrons. This facility would be used to test, discover, and understand the complex challenges of fusion plasma material interactions, nuclear material interactions, tritium fuel management, and power extraction. Such a facility properly designed would provide, initially at the JET-level plasma pressure (~30%T2) and conditions (e.g., Hot-Ion H-Mode, Q<1)), an outboard fusion neutron flux of 0.25 MW/m2 while requiring a fusion power of ~19 MW. If and when this research is successful, its performance can be extended to 1 MW/m2 and ~76 MW by reaching for twice the JET plasma pressure and Q. High-safety factor q and moderate-plasmas are used to minimize or eliminate plasma-induced disruptions, to deliver reliably a neutron fluence of 1 MW-yr/m2 and a duty factor of 10% presently anticipated for the FNS research. Success of this research will depend on achieving time-efficient installation and replacement of all internal components using remote handling (RH). This in turn requires modular designs for the internal components, including the single-turn toroidal field coil center-post. These device goals would further dictate placement of support structures and vacuum weld seals behind the internal and shielding components. If these goals could be achieved, the FNSF would further provide a ready upgrade path to the Component Test Facility (CTF), which would aim to test, for ≤6 MW-yr/m2 and 30% duty cycle, the demanding fusion nuclear engineering and technologies for DEMO. This FNSF-CTF would thereby complement the ITER Program, and support and help mitigate the risks of an aggressive world fusion DEMO R&D Program. The key physics and technology research needed in the next decade to manage the potential risks of this FNSF are identified.

Novel Magnetic Phases Revealed by Ultra-High Magnetic Field in the Frustrated Magnet ZnCr2O4

The Faraday rotation technique is used to map out the finite-temperature phase diagram of the prototypical frustrated magnet ZnCr 2 O 4 , in magnetic fields of up to 190 T generated by the single-turn coil method. We find evidence for a number of magnetic phase transitions, which are well-described by the theory based on spin–lattice coupling. In addition to the 1/2 plateau and a 3:1 canted phase, a 2:1:1 canted phase is found for the first time in chromium spinel oxides, which has been predicted by a theory of Penc et al. to realize in a small spin–lattice coupling limit. Both the new 2:1:1 and the 3:1 phases are regarded as the supersolid phases according to a magnetic analogy of Matsuda and Tsuneto, and Liu and Fisher.

Actions of low- and high-energy electrons on the phase transition between E- and H-modes in an inductively coupled plasma in Ar

It is known that an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) sustained by a radiofrequency current coil has a mode transition and hysteresis characteristics of the internal plasma parameter as a function of the external plasma parameter. We focus on the contributions of low- and high-energy electrons to the phase transition between the capacitive E-mode and the inductive H-mode in an ICP. Our analysis is based on the diagnostics for a time-resolved two-dimensional net excitation rate of short-lived excited atoms, mainly produced collisionally by low- and high-energy electrons by using an intensified charge coupled device optical image. Short-lived excited atoms Ar(2p1) and Ar(2p9) with different excitation processes have been employed as optical probes in an axisymmetric configuration of the ICP chamber, driven at 13.56 MHz by an external single-turn current coil at 300 mTorr in pure Ar. The E-to-H transition is characterized by two time constants of electrons: establishment of an axisymmetric distribution by electron diffusion and the accumulation of symmetric high-density electrons in order to sustain the inductive discharge under a weak electromagnetic field. On the other hand, the H-to-E transition is strongly influenced by the presence of a long-lived excited atom (i.e. metastables).

Modelling of an inductive sensor of the Foucault cardiogram

An electric circuit model, describing the inductive sensor of cardiac mechanical activity in its working condition, has been developed. The sensor includes a single-turn inductor coil, which is considered to be attached to the thoracic surface of a man, in front of the heart. The coil is fed by 7.7 MHz constant current and induces probing eddy currents in the body. A simple axisymmetric computer model of the thorax, formed of tightly packed circular current tubes, was created to represent the coil-patient system. With complex-valued impedivities for the body tissues, the model has been used to calculate the impedances and inductances within the system. For comparison, a fine FEM model of the same system was created and tested. Comparable results of the two different calculation methods exhibited sufficient consistence. The estimates of the parameters of the system were found and the signal production was analysed. the probing currents are applied in the form of Foucault or eddy currents, using inductors. The same inductors can be used as signal receivers, thus forming sensors for inductive measurement. To improve the induction methods, identified models of such sensors are necessary. The present study is based on a concrete example of the Foucault cardiographic sensor, which is applied to track heart mechanical activity ( 2,3 ). The objective of the present work was to develop a realistic but simple computer model of the sensor loaded with a patient and, using

Ultrahigh Magnetic Field Optical Study of Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes Film

Excitons in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWNTs) have emerged as an ideal candidate for exploring one-dimensional (1-D) exciton physics. Exciton states which dominate optical properties of SWNTs even at room temperature, are not clarify yet. The optical absorption spectra of aligned SWNTs films under ultra high magnetic fields up to 190 T are examined to investigate this issue. Shifting and splitting of the absorption peaks due to Aharonov-Bohm effect was observed clearly above 80 T in the configuration where the magnetic fields were applied in parallel to the alignment of SWNTs. The lowest singlet exciton state has been determined through the analysis of energy splitting of excitons by the application of magnetic fields. Keywords: blue shift, optically active, optically inactive, red shift, single-turn coil system

Spatial structure of the head-to-head propagating domain wall in glass-covered FeSiB microwire

Spatial structure of a domain wall propagating in high-positive-magnetostriction glass-covered microwire was observed using a modified Sixtus–Tonks apparatus. High resolution was achieved by minimizing the size of the pickup coils using single-turn coils wound directly on the surface of glass-coated microwire. Our estimations give the equivalent width of the observed wall ranging from 2.8 to 4 mm in Fe77.5Si7.5B15 microwire having 12 µm core diameter and 40 µm glass diameter. The shape of the induction signal was wider and more rounded for pickup loops placed near the end of the 30 mm long microwire sample, narrower and nearly triangular for a loop at the centre.

Electron-nuclear spin control in charged semiconductor quantum dots by electrical currents through micro-coils

We have fabricated micrometer-sized single-turn coils on top of charged CdSe/ZnSe quantum dot heterostructures by lithographical techniques. Current injection creates magnetic fields in the some 10 mT range, strong enough to modulate the hyperfine interaction. The very low coil inductance allows for generation of fast field transients. We demonstrate local control of the resident electron spin as well as read-out of the nuclear spin state on the 10 ns time scale by electrical current pulses.

Model of an inductive sensor of cardiac activity attached to patient

An electric circuit model describing an inductive sensor of cardiac mechanical activity in its working condition has been developed. The sensor comprises a single-turn coil which is fed by 7.7 MHz constant current and induces probing eddy currents in the body. The inductor is considered to be attached to the thoracic surface of a normal human male, in front of the heart. A simple axial-symmetric model of the thorax, formed of tightly packed circular current tubes, has been used to calculate the resistances, self-inductances and mutual inductances within the human body. Then the inductor and the eddy currents in the body were reduced to a system of two inductively coupled coils; estimates of the parameters and frequency response of the system have been found; the active and reactive contributions of the human body to the resulting impedance of the inductor were calculated.

Dual frequency resonator for 1.2 GHz EPR/16.2 MHz NMR co-imaging

The development of a dual frequency resonator that enables both EPR and proton NMR imaging within the same resonator, magnet and gradient system is described. A novel design allows the same resonator to perform both EPR and proton NMR operation without moving resonator cables or switches. The resonator is capable of working at frequencies of 16.18 MHz for proton NMR and 1.2 GHz for EPR and is optimized for isolated rat heart experiments, measuring 22 mm in inner diameter and 19 mm in length. In EPR mode, the resonator functions as a one-loop-two gap resonator, electrically coupled through a half wavelength inverter. In NMR mode, it functions a single turn coil. Using the same loop for both modalities maximizes filling factor at both frequencies. Placing the tuning and switching controls away from the resonator prevents any inadvertent movement that would cause errors of EPR and NMR co-imaging registration. The resonator enabled good quality EPR and proton MRI of isolated rat hearts with precise registration.

Magnetization of highly frustrated Zn-chromium spinel oxides up to a megagauss magnetic field

Precise magnetization processes of ZnCr2O4 were obtained by means of the Faraday rotation method subjected to ultra high magnetic fields up to 190 T generated by a single turn coil technique. In magnetization processes of ZnCr2O4, there observed a coplanar 2:1:1 canted state (the cant 2:1:1 phase) which is predicted by the theoretical model including a spin-lattice coupling. A magnetic-field width of the 1/2 plateau widens as the temperature increases.

Application of an Electro-Magnetic Induction Technique for the Magnetization up to 100 T in a Vertical Single-turn Coil System

The system was developed for the magnetization measurement in the vertical single-turn coil (V-STC) system at ISSP, which can generate magnetic fields over 100 T in a semi-destructive manner. We have adjusted the electro-magnetic induction method to our V-STC. The new system was applied to the manganite with the perovskite-type structure Bi1/2Ca1/2MnO3. The total magnetization process was obtained up to 105 T in excellent quality comparable to those obtained by the non-destructive long pulse magnet.