Contactless gating,surface charging and illumination effects in a buried Al<Subscript>0.24</Subscript>Ga<Subscript>0.76</Subscript>As/GaAs quantum well structure

The conductivity of an Al_0.24Ga_0.76As/GaAs quantum well was studied as a function of the surface charge generated by electron bombardment of the sample in the absence of an externally applied surface electric field. Under a suitable rate of electron irradiation, it was possible to completely shut off the conductive channel, implying a surface density . Light illumination quenches the increase of the resistivity, apparently due to photoemission from the metastable surface states. Upon turning off the electron bombardment the surface charge on adsorbed layers of xenon and water at 8 K decays in room temperature darkness with a lifetime τ= 0.30 ±0.02 s. The average charging efficiency, is μ₀ ≃0.001. Surface charging is shown to be an effective method for contactless gating of field effect devices.     

Study of traffic flow at an unsignalized T-shaped intersection by cellular automata model

In this paper, the traffic flow at an unsignalized T-shaped intersection in which there are three input directions of vehicles and two right-turnings and one left-turning has been investigated by using the cellular automata traffic model. The interactions between vehicles on different lanes and effects of traffic flow states of different roads on capacity of T-shaped intersection system are analyzed. The phase transition characteristics of traffic states on different lanes are studied. The research indicates that the model can be applied to the real traffic analysis and traffic forecast.     

Isotropic ferromagnetic resonance field shift in as-prepared permalloy/FeMn bilayers

Exchange-coupled wedged-permalloy (Py)/FeMn bilayers are studied by ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) technique at room temperature. In comparison, Py single layer films were also made. For Py single layer films and Py/FeMn bilayers, only one uniform resonance peak was observed at high magnetic fields, indicating no interfacial diffusion at the Py/FeMn and Py/Cu interfaces. Negative isotropic in-plane resonance field does exist in Py/FeMn bilayers and its magnitude increases with decreasing Py layer thickness. In order to explain above phenomena, interfacial perpendicular anisotropy must be considered simultaneously, in addition to irreversible rotation of spins in FeMn layers. This is because the perpendicular resonance field of the bilayers is larger than that of Py single layer films.     

Spatial decorrelation in broad-area edge-emitting semiconductor amplifiers

We analyze experimentally the spatio-temporal dynamics of the transverse structures appearing in broad area edge-emitting semiconductor amplifiers under CW optical injection. We demonstrate that, in certain conditions, the light reflected by the system exhibits a multipeaked structure whose dependence on the parameters suggests an interpretation in terms of cavity solitons. These structures can exhibit self-pulsations with periods of the order of few milliseconds, which we explain in terms of regenerative thermal oscillations. In a particular device, we generate two single-peak structures which are spatially uncorrelated, as required for cavity solitons. A microscopic model shows good agreement with the main body of the experimental results.     

Studies of ion energy and yield from argon clusters heated by intense femtosecond laser pulses

Using time-of-flight spectrometry, the interaction of intense femtosecond laser pulses with argon clusters has been studied by measuring the energy and yield of emitted ions. With two different supersonic nozzles, the dependence of average ion energy on cluster size in a large range of has been measured. The experimental results indicate that when the cluster size , the average ion energy Coulomb explosion is the dominant expansion mechanism. Beyond this size, the average ion energy gets saturated gradually, the clusters exhibit a mixed Coulomb-hydrodynamic expansion behavior. We also find that with the increasing gas backing pressure, there is a maximum ion yield, the ion yield decreases as the gas backing pressure is further increased.     

Ab initio study for the intermolecular interaction potential surface of Ar-N2 complex

The intermolecular interaction potentials of van der Waals Ar-N2 complex have been studied by ab initio calculations using the single and double excitation coupled cluster [CCSD(T)] theory with perturbative triples correction. The full counterpoise method is applied to correct the basis set superposition error (BSSE). It is found that the T-shaped structure is the most stable conformation with the well depth De of 12.40 meV at the minimum distance Rm of 3.70 Å. The calculated anisotropic values for Rm, R0 and De are 0.56 Å, 0.54 Å and 2.68 meV, respectively. Compared with those obtained by others, our calculated PES seems to be in better agreement with experiments.     

A simplified method for analysis of polyunsaturated fatty acids

Background  

Analysis of fatty acid composition of biological materials is a common task in lipid research. Conventionally, preparation of samples for fatty acid analysis by gas chromatography involves two separate procedures: lipid extraction and methylation. This conventional method is complicated, tedious and time consuming. Development of a rapid and simple method for lipid analysis is warranted.     

Photodegradation catalyst discovery by high-throughput experiment

A high-throughput experimental methodology was developed for photocatalysis reaction. In this work, a CCD imaging analysis system and photocatalytic reactor for UV light was designed and tested. By making use of the technologies, we have screened several catalyst libraries. From the SiO2-supported single component catalyst library, we found that TiO2, ZrO2, Nb2O5, and WO3 were good candidates for highly active catalyst formulation. We designed and screened several triangle catalyst libraries and found that the WO3- and Nb2O5-codoped TiO2 catalyst showed much higher photodegradation activities for the degradation of 1,6-hexamethylenediamine than did the pure TiO2 catalyst. The doping of ZrO2 into TiO2 did not generate apparent positive effects on catalytic activity.     

Observation of individual microtubule motor steps in living cells with endocytosed quantum dots

We report the observation of individual steps taken by motor proteins in living cells by following movements of endocytic vesicles that contain quantum dots (QDs) with a fast camera. The brightness and photostability of quantum dots allow us to record motor displacement traces with 300 micros time resolution and 1.5 nm spatial precision. We observed individual 8 nm steps in active transport toward both the microtubule plus- and minus-ends, the directions of kinesin and dynein movements, respectively. In addition, we clearly resolved abrupt 16 nm steps in the plus-end direction and often consecutive 16 nm and occasional 24 nm steps in minus-end directed movements. This work demonstrates the ability of the QD assay to probe the operation of motor proteins at the molecular level in living cells under physiological conditions.     

Atomic-scale imaging of wall-by-wall breakdown and concurrent transport measurements in multiwall carbon nanotubes

We report the atomic-scale imaging with concurrent transport measurements of the breakdown of individual multiwall carbon nanotubes inside a transmission electron microscope equipped with a piezomanipulator. We found unexpectedly three distinct breakdown sequences: namely, from the outermost wall inward, from the innermost wall outward, and alternatively between the innermost and the outmost walls. Remarkably, a significant amount of current drop was observed when an innermost wall is broken, proving unambiguously that every wall is conducting. Moreover, the breakdown of each wall in any sequence initiates in the middle of the nanotube, not at the contact, proving that the transport is not ballistic.