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Background: The management of hypertension remains suboptimal throughout the world. Methods: We performed a random-effects model meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to determine the effectiveness and safety of sacubitril/valsartan (LCZ696) for the treatment of high arterial pressure. Relevant published articles from PubMed, Cochrane base, and Medline were examined, and the last search date was December 2020. Only published randomized controlled trials and double-blind studies were selected for further analysis. The mean reductions in systolic blood pressure (msSBP) and diastolic blood pressure (msDBP) in the sitting position, as well as the mean reductions in ambulatory systolic blood pressure (maSBP) and ambulatory diastolic blood pressure (maDBP), were assumed as efficacy endpoints. Adverse events (AEs) were considered as safety outcomes. Results: Ten studies with a total of 5931patients were included for analysis. Compared with placebo, LCZ696 had a significant reduction in msSBP (weight mean difference (WMD) = −6.52 mmHg, 95% confidence interval (CI): −8.57 to −4.47; p < 0.001), msDBP (WMD = −3.32 mmHg, 95% CI: −4.57 to −2.07; p < 0.001), maSBP (WMD = −7.08 mmHg, 95% CI: −10.48 to −3.68; p < 0.001), maDBP (WMD = −3.57 mmHg, 95% CI: −5.71 to −1.44, p < 0.001). In subgroup analysis, only 200 mg and 400 mg LCZ696 showed a significant BP reduction. There was no difference in the AE rate between the LCZ696 and placebo groups (WMD = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.83 to 1.27, p = 0.54). Egger’s test revealed a potential publication bias for msSBP (p = 0.025), but no publication bias for other outcomes. Conclusion: LCZ696 may reduce blood pressure more efficaciously than traditional therapy in hypertensive patients without increasing adverse effects.

We demonstrate a successful selective growth of Si0.3Ge0.7 quantum dots (QDs) over array of p+-Si nanopillars using a low-pressure chemical vapor deposition technique, and hereafter realized high-performance QD broadband photodiodes for visible to near-infrared photodetection based on heterostructures of indium tin oxide/Si0.3Ge0.7 QD/Si pillar. Thanks to effective hole confinement and thus a built-in electric field within the SiGe QD, high ratios of photocurrent to dark current of ~2200, 100, and 30, respectively, were measured on our SiGe QDs-based photodiodes under illumination of 9 mW/cm2 at wavelength of 500-800, 1300, and 1500 nm. The QD photodiode exhibits a very low dark current density of 3.2 × 10-8 A/cm2 and a tunable power-dependent linearity by applied voltage through the competition of electron drift and carrier recombination processes.

We demonstrated the controlled placement of a Ge quantum dot (QD) along with tunnel-junction engineering in a self-organized approach for the effective management of single charge tunneling. In this approach, a single-Ge-QD ( ~ 11 nm) self-aligning with nickel-polycide electrodes is realized by thermally oxidizing a SiGe nanorod that bridges a 15-nm-wide nanotrench in close proximity to electrodes via a spacer bilayer of Si3N4/SiO2. The fabricated Ge-QD single-hole transistor exhibits clear Coulomb oscillation and Coulomb diamond behaviors at T = 77 K-150 K, providing a way to analyze the electronic structure of the Ge QD.

We report a unique, CMOS approach for the inclusion of size-tunable (7-50-nm), spherical Ge quantum dots (QDs) into gate stacks of Si MOS transistors, through selective oxidation of SiGe pillars over the buffer layer of Si3N4 on top of the Si substrate. The Ge-QD MOS phototransistors feature extremely low dark current densities (I off ∼ 0.27 pA/μm2), high I on /I off (>106), steep subthreshold swing (∼175 mV/dec at 300 K), superior external quantum efficiency (∼240%), and fast response time of 1.4ns under illumination of 850 nm, providing a core building block for high-performance Ge optical transducers for on-chip optical switches and transducers for Si-based optical interconnect applications. Most importantly, the detection wavelength of the Ge QD is tunable from near infrared to near ultraviolet by reducing the QD size from 50 to 7 nm, and the optimal photoresponsivity is tailored by the Ge QD size and the effective thickness of gate dielectrics.

We demonstrated a novel, self-aligned gate-stack heterostructure of Ge-quantum dot (QD)/SiO 2 /SiGe-shell on Si with superior interfacial properties in a single step of selective oxidation of a SiGe pillar over a Si 3 N 4 buffer layer on Si substrate. Ge metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors exhibit a quite low interface trap density on the order of 1011 cm−2eV−1, and Ge n-MOSFETs show good turn on and off features with a subthreshld slope of 175 mV/dec and I on /I off > 106.

A single Ge quantum-dot (~10 nm) forms and self-aligns with source/drain electrodes via SiO2 tunneling barriers using thermal oxidation of a SiGe-on-insulator nanowire. Thereby, a Ge single-hole transistor with self-aligned electrodes is experimentally realized based on FinFET technology and features with clear Coulomb staircase/negative differential conductance and large Coulomb-blockade oscillation behaviors at room temperature. This work provides a simple approach to alleviate this nanofabrication bottleneck and thereby reduce series resistances and increase design freedom for SETs.

A single electron transistor (SET) is an ultimate scheme of electronic devices for the purpose of controlling current with one charge precision based on Coulomb blockade effect. A SET could be used as a highly sensitive electrometer and might provide great potential applications for quantum information technology. For RT operation, the size of a Si-based QD should be less than 10 nm to prevent errors caused by thermal fluctuation. Nevertheless, control of nanometer-scaled thickness, area, and volume is not easy even when state of the art lithography and/or self-organization techniques are used. The solution we propose to alleviate this problem is to form Ge QDs by selective oxidation of Si1-xGexSi-on-insulator (SOI) (Li et al., 2004). Using this method, Ge QDs are comparatively uniform and thermodynamically stable since Ge QDs are confined by the insulating layers. The proposed process is compatible to CMOS technology and can be easily adapted in the fabrication of embedded circuits

We reported experimental observations of strong quantum confinement and coulomb blockade effects in germanium (Ge) quantum dots (QDs)/SiO/sub 2/ system. With a CMOS-compatible method, nanometer-scale Ge QDs (less than 10 nm) could be controllably formed for novel optoelectronic device applications such as single-electron transistors (SETs) as well as light emitter or detectors. Distinguishable photoemission from Ge QDs and relevant blueshifts of the emission peaks are observed from room-temperature cathodoluminescence spectra. Ge QD SETs were also experimentally realized with a large single-electron addition energy and an energy level separation of 125 meV and 50 meV, respectively.

Semiconductor Ge quantum-dot (QD) thermometry has been demonstrated based on extraordinary temperature-dependent oscillatory differential conductance (GD) characteristics of Ge-QD single-hole transistors (SHTs) in the few-hole regime. Full-voltage width-at-half-minimum, V1/2, of GD valleys appears to be fairly linear in the charge number (n) and temperature within the QD in a relationship of eV1/2 ≅ (1 − 0.11n) × 5.15kBT, providing the primary thermometric quantity. The depth of GD valley is also proportional to charging energy (EC) and 1/T via ΔGD ≅ EC/9.18kBT, providing another thermometric quantity. This experimental demonstration suggests our Ge-QD SHT offering effective building blocks for nanothermometers over a wide temperature range with a detection temperature as high as 155 K in a spatial resolution less than 10 nm and temperature accuracy of sub-kelvin.

An otherwise random, self-assembly of Ge quantum dots (QDs) on Si has been controlled by nano-patterning and oxidation to produce QDs with desired sizes, locations, and depths of penetration into the Si substrate. A heterostructure consisting of a thin amorphous interfacial oxide between the Ge QD and the Si substrate is shown to improve crystalline quality by de-coupling the lattice-matching constraint. A low dark current density of 1.1 μA/cm2 and a high photocurrent enhancement up to 35 000 and 1500, respectively, for 1.5 mW incident illumination at 850 nm and 1160 nm was measured on our Ge QD-based metal-oxide-semiconductor photodiodes.