Search

Electric-field-assisted deterministic assembly is used to position arrays of p+-i-n+ In0.53Ga0.47As nanowires on a Si substrate for de-vice integration. Forces induced on the solution-suspended wires by a spatially varying, nonuniform electric field determines the po-sition of each wire with respect to lithographic features on the sub-strate. The electrical properties of the sub-50 nm diameter In0.53Ga0.47As junctions with a 100 nm thick unintentionally doped channel were characterized after adding source and drain contacts. The junctions showed clear rectification, with a forward bias ideal-ity factors as low as 1.8, and reverse leakage current as small as 20 pA at a -1 V bias. This represents an important step towards demonstrating an In0.53Ga0.47As-based nanowire tunnel transistor.

Angiogenesis is a highly organized process under the control of guidance cues that direct endothelial cell (EC) migration. Recently, many molecules that were initially described as regulators of neural guidance were subsequently shown to also direct EC migration. Here, we report a novel protein, thrombospondin type I domain containing 7A (Thsd7a), that is a neural molecule required for directed EC migration during embryonic angiogenesis in zebrafish. Thsd7a is a vertebrate conserved protein. Zebrafish thsd7a transcript was detected along the ventral edge of the neural tube in the developing zebrafish embryos, correlating with the growth path of angiogenic intersegmental vessels (ISVs). Morpholino-knockdown of Thsd7a caused a lateral deviation of angiogenic ECs below the thsd7a-expressing sites, resulting in aberrant ISV patterning. Collectively, our study shows that zebrafish Thsd7a is a neural protein required for ISV angiogenesis, and suggests an important role of Thsd7a in the neurovascular interaction during zebrafish development. Developmental Dynamics 240:1412–1421, 2011. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

GaSb nanowires were synthesized on c-plane sapphire substrates by gold-mediated vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) growth using a metalorganic chemical vapor deposition process. A narrow process window for GaSb nanowire growth was identified. Chemical analysis revealed variations in the catalyst composition which were explained in terms of the Au-Ga-Sb ternary phase diagram and suggest that the VLS growth mechanism was responsible for the nanowire growth. The nominally undoped GaSb nanowires were determined to be p-type with resistivity on the order of 0.23 Ω cm. The photoluminescence was found to be highly dependent on the V/III ratio, with an optimal ratio of unity.

Boron-doped silicon nanowires (SiNWs) grown by the vapor-liquid-solid growth mechanism using silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4) as the silicon precursor and trimethylboron (TMB) as the boron source were studied to understand the axial and radial doping uniformity. TMB-doped SiNWs with diameters up to 400 nm and lengths > 7.5 μm were integrated into a global back-gated test structure with multiple electrodes for electrical characterization. From gate modulated measurements, the SiNWs were confirmed to be heavily doped p-type. Multiple four point resistivity measurements across a total length of 7.5 μm were taken on as-grown SiNWs. Resistivity, corrected for surface charge, was determined to be 0.01 +/− 0.002 Ω cm along the entire length of the as-grown boron doped SiNWs. This was also observed in the axial direction for etched SiNWs, with corrected resistivity of 0.01 +/− 0.003 Ω cm, therefore confirming the uniform p-type doping of SiNWs using TMB and SiCl4 as precursors.

Single wire p(+)-n(+) radial junction nanowire solar cell devices were fabricated by low pressure chemical vapor deposition of n(+) silicon shell layers on p(+) silicon nanowires synthesized by vapor-liquid-solid growth. The n(+)-shell layers were deposited at two growth temperatures (650 °C and 950 °C) to study the impact of shell crystallinity on the device properties. The n-type Si shell layers deposited at 650 °C were polycrystalline and resulted in diodes that were not rectifying. A pre-coating anneal at 950 °C in H2 improved the structural quality of the shell layers and yielded diodes with a dark saturation current density of 3 × 10(-5) A cm(-2). Deposition of the n-type Si shell layer at 950 °C resulted in epitaxial growth on the nanowire core, which lowered the dark saturation current density to 3 × 10(-7) A cm(-2) and increased the solar energy conversion efficiency. Temperature-dependent current-voltage measurements demonstrated that the 950 °C coated devices were abrupt junction p(+)-n(+) diodes with band-to-band tunneling at high reverse-bias voltage, while multi-step tunneling degraded the performance of devices fabricated with a 950 °C anneal and 650 °C coating. The higher trap density of the 950 °C annealed 650 °C coated devices is believed to arise from the polycrystalline nature of the shell layer coating, which results in an increased density of dangling bonds at the p(+)-n(+) junction interface.

Human mitochondrial NAD(P)+-dependent malate dehydrogenase (decarboxylating) (malic enzyme) can be specifically and allosterically activated by fumarate. X-ray crystal structures have revealed conformational changes in the enzyme in the absence and in the presence of fumarate. Previous studies have indicated that fumarate is bound to the allosteric pocket via Arg67 and Arg91. Mutation of these residues almost abolishes the activating effect of fumarate. However, these amino acid residues are conserved in some enzymes that are not activated by fumarate, suggesting that there may be additional factors controlling the activation mechanism. In the present study, we tried to delineate the detailed molecular mechanism of activation of the enzyme by fumarate. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to replace Asp102, which is one of the charged amino acids in the fumarate binding pocket and is not conserved in other decarboxylating malate dehydrogenases. In order to explore the charge effect of this residue, Asp102 was replaced by alanine, glutamate or lysine. Our experimental data clearly indicate the importance of Asp102 for activation by fumarate. Mutation of Asp102 to Ala or Lys significantly attenuated the activating effect of fumarate on the enzyme. Kinetic parameters indicate that the effect of fumarate was mainly to decrease the Km values for malate, Mg2+ and NAD+, but it did not notably elevate kcat. The apparent substrate Km values were reduced by increasing concentrations of fumarate. Furthermore, the greatest effect of fumarate activation was apparent at low malate, Mg2+ or NAD+ concentrations. The Kact values were reduced with increasing concentrations of malate, Mg2+ and NAD+. The Asp102 mutants, however, are much less sensitive to regulation by fumarate. Mutation of Asp102 leads to the desensitization of the co-operative effect between fumarate and substrates of the enzyme.

This work reports the temperature-electric properties for the (Ba, Sr)TiO3(BST) thin film capacitor using the multi-film structure of BST/ultra-thin-chromium(Cr) layer/BST. The BST(200 nm)/Cr(1–3 nm)/BST(200 nm) multi-films reveal excellent properties in the thermal stabilities of dielectric property, low leakage current and less power dissipation.

This work reports the current-temperature characteristics of the low-temperature-sputtered (Ba 0.8 Sr 0.2 )TiO 3 (BST) film post treated by rapid thermal annealing (RTA) in O 2 ambient. The top electrode was biased under negative/positive voltage to investigate the interface properties of the Pt/BST/Pt multifilm. As the results, the current density of the RTA-treated BST film was greatly reduced owing to compensation of oxygen vacancies. The RTA-treated BST thin film biased at negative voltage exhibits a negative temperature-coefficient-resistivity (NTCR) behavior, but, intriguingly, that biased at positive voltage reveals a positive temperature-coefficient-resistivity (PTCR) behavior. According to the leakage current analysis, the Schottky emission dominates the negative biased current at upper interface, but the Heywang barrier scattering confines the positive biased current.

Silver nanorod has a very good plasmonic response to optical waves, that is, it exhibits some extraordinary near-field optical properties. In this paper, we investigate the plasmonic reaction of nanorods to polarized visible light. Not only a single nanorod is studied, but also two nanorods and an array of nanorods are manifested. The reemitted pattern of the nanorods array declares that a subwavelength image can be constructed. The results infer that the diffraction limit in imaging could be conquered by the plasmonic coupling among silver nanorods.

The temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) characteristics of Pt/(Ba 0 . 8 Sr 0 . 2 )TiO 3 (BST)/Pt thin-film resistors are studied for the BST films with rapid thermal annealing (RTA) treatments. The polarizations induced by bias voltages greatly influence the TCR characteristics. The RTA-treated BST thin film exhibits negative TCR (NTCR) behavior at a negative voltage, but, intriguingly, positive TCR (PTCR) behavior at a positive voltage. According to the leakage current analysis, Schottky emission dominates the negatively biased current at the upper interface, but Heywang barrier scattering confines the positive biased current.