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The significant increase in hard disk storage capacity in the last few years can be in part attributed to theoretical research in Mathematics undertaken at City University London. A material or device is said to exhibit the property of magnetoresistance if its electrical resistance changes when the direction of an external magnetic field is varied. The work undertaken at City concluded that devices based on magnesium oxide (MgO) would exhibit magnetoresistances very much larger than previously observed. In 2004 these conclusions were confirmed experimentally. By 2008 a new type of disk read head (the device that senses data on a magnetic disk) based on this structure was being manufactured commercially, enabling a significant increase in hard disk storage capacity. Today all computer hard disks use read heads based on this technology in an industry with 2012 sales exceeding $28 billion. The increase in hard disk storage capacity achieved (from gigabytes to terabytes: 1 terabyte = 1,000 gigabytes) and the consequent improvement in disk performance for users can be partly attributed to the City research.
We demonstrate a strong influence on the design of the read head used in the present state-of-the-art hard-disk drive (HDD) first produced commercially in 2008. This much improved read head, enabling disk storage density to increase by a factor of 5 to around 1 Tbit/in2, relies crucially on a magnetic tunnel junction with a MgO barrier whose huge tunneling magnetoresistance was predicted theoretically in a 2001 paper co-authored by Dr A. Umerski [1], the RA on one of our EPSRC-funded research grants. This prediction relied on techniques developed by us over many years, specifically in refs [2] and [3]. Such magnetic tunnel junctions are used in all computer HDDs manufactured today with predicted sales in 2012 amounting to more than $28 billion [section 5, source A].
A device developed for spintronics research at the University of Oxford has been adapted as the basis for robust, high-performance position or composition sensors to detect many different materials including metals, plastics, ceramics and fluids. These sensors are capable of making contactless measurements in very hostile environments. A spin-out company was formed in 2004 to exploit and apply this technology to a wide range of technical and engineering problems and has achieved over £2.5m revenue. These sensors form the key elements of products that have been successfully deployed in automotive and other transport applications. Benefits to end users include ease of use, speed and the cost savings.
Our research on the physiological effects of the electromagnetic fields generated in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used by: (i) the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and the UK Health Protection Agency (HPA) in establishing advisory limits and action values in their published regulatory guidelines; (ii) the EU Commission as part of the evidential basis in their decision to derogate MRI from the scope of the Physical Agents Directive 2004/40/EC. These decisions have enabled the continued operation of MR scanners across Europe, safeguarding the access to MRI for 500 million people. The economic benefits arising from the manufacture of MRI equipment were also secured. Our work has thus resulted in impact on public policy, the economy and healthcare.
Research in the Microelectronics Group of the Cavendish Laboratory in the area of single-electron nanoelectronics, quantum computing and spintronics has been exploited by Hitachi, one of world's leading microelectronics companies. Research breakthroughs made in the Cavendish have defined Hitachi's R&D directions in quantum computing and spintronics, led to several Hitachi product developments and influenced senior Hitachi strategic decision makers regarding the future of computing.
Research at the University of Cambridge, Department of Physics on sensitive techniques for measurements of magnetic and electrical properties of materials led to the selection of Dr Michael Sutherland as an expert witness in a series of major police investigations involving fraudulent bomb detecting equipment. Scientific evidence Dr Sutherland presented in court was key in securing guilty verdicts, leading to the breakup in 2013 of several international fraud rings with combined revenue in excess of £70 million. This criminal activity had caused significant damage to the reputation of the UK in Iraq and elsewhere.
Positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are two of the most powerful clinical imaging tools. They provide complementary information that is used in the diagnosis of many diseases and in assessing the effect of current and new therapies. Researchers at King's College London, in an international collaboration, demonstrated for the first time the simultaneous acquisition of PET and MR data and the application of the technique in preclinical models. Simultaneous PET-MR systems significantly improve the quality of patient care by allowing both PET and MR examinations to be performed in a single scanning session and by reducing radiation exposure by a factor of two. This pioneering work has led to clinical whole body simultaneous PET-MR systems recently becoming commercially available and there are currently around 40 PET-MR scanners installed in clinical/research institutions worldwide.
Groundbreaking UCL research and development of magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical applications led to the introduction in 2012 of the world's first licensed nanoparticulate injectable medical device, the Sienna+ tracer, and its associated detection system, the SentiMag. A UCL spinout company, Endomagnetics Ltd., has introduced this new technology to better diagnose and treat cancer without the need for invasive surgery. The system uses magnetic materials, rather than radioisotopes, to locate the sentinel lymph nodes that are the key indicators of the spread of cancer away from the primary tumour site. As well as improving patient outcomes, the system considerably improves hospital workflow and efficiency since, unlike radioisotopes, the injectable magnetic tracer (Sienna+) is readily available and requires no special handling
Research in the Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering at the University of Sheffield has generated economic impact through the creation of a spinout company, Magnomatics Ltd, commercialising high performance electric drives, in particular those employing magnetic gearing technologies. Magnomatics employs 35 full-time staff, had a turnover of £1.4M for the year 2012, and its technologies are now being developed for applications in utility scale wind turbines, hybrid vehicles and marine propulsion.