Large local Hall effect in pin-hole dominated multigraphene spin-valves.

We report local and non-local measurements in pin-hole dominated mesoscopic multigraphene spin-valves. Local spin-valve measurements show spurious switching behavior in resistance during magnetic field sweeping similar to the signal observed due to spin injection into multigraphene. The switching behavior has been explained in terms of a local Hall effect due to a thickness irregularity of the tunnel barrier. The local Hall effect appears due to a large local magnetostatic field produced near the roughness in the AlO(x) tunnel barrier. In our samples the resistance change due to the local Hall effect remains negligibly small above 75 K. A strong local Hall effect might hinder spin injection into multigraphene, resulting in no spin signal in non-local measurements.

Can doping graphite trigger room temperature superconductivity? Evidence for granular high-temperature superconductivity in water-treated graphite powder.

Granular superconductivity in powders of small graphite grains (several tens of micrometers) is demonstrated after treatment with pure water. The temperature, magnetic field and time dependence of the magnetic moment of the treated graphite powder provides evidence for the existence of superconducting vortices with some similarities to high-temperature granular superconducting oxides but even at temperatures above 300 K. Room temperature superconductivity in doped graphite or at its interfaces appears to be possible.

Revealing the origin of the vertical hysteresis loop shifts in an exchange biased Co/YMnO3 bilayer.

We have investigated exchange bias effects in bilayers composed of the antiferromagnetic o-YMnO(3) and ferromagnetic Co thin film by means of SQUID magnetometry, magnetoresistance, anisotropic magnetoresistance and the planar Hall effect. The magnetization and magneto-transport properties show pronounced asymmetries in the field and magnetization axes of the field hysteresis loops. Both exchange bias parameters, the exchange bias field H(E)(T) as well as the magnetization shift M(E)(T), vanish around the Néel temperature T(N) =/~ 45 K. We show that the magnetization shift M(E)(T) is also measured by a shift in the anisotropic magnetoresistance and planar Hall resistance having a similar temperature dependence as the one obtained from magnetization measurements. Because the o-YMnO(3) film is highly insulating, our results demonstrate that the M(E)(T) shift originates at the interface within the ferromagnetic Co layer. To show that the main results obtained are general and not because of some special characteristics of the o-YMO(3) layer, similar measurements were done in Co/CoO micro-wires. The transport and magnetization characterization of the micro-wires supports the main conclusion that these effects are related to the response of the ferromagnetic Co layer at the interface.

Disordered electrical potential observed on the surface of SiO2 by electric field microscopy.

The electrical potential on the surface of ∼300 nm thick SiO(2) grown on single-crystalline Si substrates has been characterized at ambient conditions using electric field microscopy. Our results show an inhomogeneous potential distribution with fluctuations up to ∼0.4 V within regions of 1 µm. The potential fluctuations observed at the surface of these usual dielectric holders of graphene sheets should induce strong variations in the graphene charge densities and provide a simple explanation for some of the anomalous behaviors of the transport properties of graphene.