367 research outputs found
Simulation of charge transport in multi-island tunneling devices: Application to disordered one-dimensional systems at low and high biases
Although devices have been fabricated displaying interesting single-electron transport characteristics, there has been limited progress in the development of tools that can simulate such devices based on their physical geometry over a range of bias conditions up to a few volts per junction. In this work, we present the development of a multi-island transport simulator, MITS, a simulator of tunneling transport in multi-island devices that takes into account geometrical and material parameters, and can span low and high source-drain biases. First, the capabilities of MITS are demonstrated by modeling experimentaldevices described in the literature, and showing that the simulated device characteristics agree well with the experimental observations. Then, the results of studies of charge transport through a long one-dimensional (1D) chain of gold nano-islands on an insulating substrate are presented. Current-voltage (IV) characteristics are investigated as a function of the overall chain-length and temperature. Under high bias conditions, where temperature has a minimal effect, the IV characteristics are non-Ohmic, and do not exhibit any Coulomb staircase (CS) structures. The overall resistance of the device also increases non-linearly with increasing chain-length. For small biases, IV characteristics show clear CS structures that are more pronounced for larger chain-lengths. The Coulomb blockade and the threshold voltage (Vth ) required for device switching increase linearly with the increase in chain length. With increasing temperature, the blockade effects are diminished as the abrupt increase in current at Vth is washed out and the apparent blockade decreases. Microscopic investigations demonstrate that the overall V characteristics are a result of a complex interplay among those factors that affect the tunneling rates that are fixed a priori (island sizes, island separations, temperature, etc.), and the evolving charge state of the system, which changes as the applied source-drain bias (VSD ) is changed. In a system of nano-islands with a broad distribution of sizes and inter-island spacings, the applied bias is divided across the junctions as one would expect of a voltage divider, with larger potential drops across the wider junctions and smaller drops across the narrower junctions. As a result, the tunneling resistances across these wider junctions decrease dramatically, relative to the other junctions, at high VSD thereby increasing their electron tunneling rates. IV behavior at high VSD follows a power-law scaling behavior with the exponent dependent on the length of the chain and the degree of disorder in the system
Spontaneous radiation of a finite-size dipole emitter in hyperbolic media
We study the radiative decay rate and Purcell effect for a finite-size dipole
emitter placed in a homogeneous uniaxial medium. We demonstrate that the
radiative rate is strongly enhanced when the signs of the longitudinal and
transverse dielectric constants of the medium are opposite, and the
isofrequency contour has a hyperbolic shape. We reveal that the Purcell
enhancement factor remains finite even in the absence of losses, and it depends
on the emitter size.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Photoexcited transients in disordered semiconductors: Quantum coherence at very short to intermediate times
We study theoretically electron transients in semiconductor alloys excited by
light pulses shorter than 100 femtoseconds and tuned above the absorption edge
during and shortly after the pulse, when disorder scattering is dominant.
We use non-equilibrium Green functions employing the field-dependent
self-consistent Born approximation. The propagators and the particle
correlation function are obtained by a direct numerical solution of the Dyson
equations in differential form. For the purely elastic scattering in our model
system the solution procedures for the retarded propagator and for the
correlation function can be decoupled.The propagator is used as an input in
calculating the correlation function. Numerical results combined with a
cumulant expansion permit to separate in a consistent fashion the dark and the
induced parts of the self-energy. The dark behavior reduces to propagation of
strongly damped quasi-particles; the field induced self-energy leads to an
additional time non-local coherence. The particle correlation function is
formed by a coherent transient and an incoherent back-scattered component. The
particle number is conserved only if the field induced coherence is fully
incorporated. The transient polarization and the energy balance are also
obtained and interpreted.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B; 37 pages,17 figure
New flexible channels for room temperature tunneling field effect transistors
Tunneling field effect transistors (TFETs) have been proposed to overcome the fundamental issues of Si based transistors, such as short channel effect, finite leakage current, and high contact resistance. Unfortunately, most if not all TFETs are operational only at cryogenic temperatures. Here we report that iron (Fe) quantum dots functionalized boron nitride nanotubes (QDs-BNNTs) can be used as the flexible tunneling channels of TFETs at room temperatures. The electrical insulating BNNTs are used as the one-dimensional (1D) substrates to confine the uniform formation of Fe QDs on their surface as the flexible tunneling channel. Consistent semiconductor-like transport behaviors under various bending conditions are detected by scanning tunneling spectroscopy in a transmission electron microscopy system (in-situ STM-TEM). As suggested by computer simulation, the uniform distribution of Fe QDs enable an averaging effect on the possible electron tunneling pathways, which is responsible for the consistent transport properties that are not sensitive to bending
Probing Interband Coulomb Interactions in Semiconductor Nanocrystals with 2D Double-Quantum Coherence Spectroscopy
Using previously developed exciton scattering model accounting for the
interband, i.e., exciton-biexciton, Coulomb interactions in semiconductor
nanocrystals (NCs), we derive a closed set of equations for 2D double-quantum
coherence signal. The signal depends on the Liouville space pathways which
include both the interband scattering processes and the inter- and intraband
optical transitions. These processes correspond to the formation of different
cross-peaks in the 2D spectra. We further report on our numerical calculations
of the 2D signal using reduced level scheme parameterized for PbSe NCs. Two
different NC excitation regimes considered and unique spectroscopic features
associated with the interband Coulomb interactions are identified.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
Genetic heterogeneity and recombination in human type 2 astroviruses
Novel lineages of human astrovirus (HAstV) types 2, 2c, and 2d have been identified. Upon sequencing of the 3= end of the genome, the type 2c and 2d HAstVs were found to be open reading frame 1b (ORF1b)-ORF2 recombinant, with ORF1b being derived from type 3 and type 1 HAstVs, respectively. An ORF2 interlineage recombinant strain, 2c/2b, was also identified
Multiexcitons confined within a sub-excitonic volume: Spectroscopic and dynamical signatures of neutral and charged biexcitons in ultrasmall semiconductor nanocrystals
The use of ultrafast gating techniques allows us to resolve both spectrally
and temporally the emission from short-lived neutral and negatively charged
biexcitons in ultrasmall (sub-10 nm) CdSe nanocrystals (nanocrystal quantum
dots). Because of forced overlap of electronic wave functions and reduced
dielectric screening, these states are characterized by giant interaction
energies of tens (neutral biexcitons) to hundreds (charged biexcitons) of meV.
Both types of biexcitons show extremely short lifetimes (from sub-100
picoseconds to sub-picosecond time scales) that rapidly shorten with decreasing
nanocrystal size. These ultrafast relaxation dynamics are explained in terms of
highly efficient nonradiative Auger recombination.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Genetic heterogeneity of porcine enteric caliciviruses identified from diarrhoeic piglets
Enteric caliciviruses (noroviruses and sapoviruses) are responsible for the majority of non-bacterial gastroenteritis in humans of all age groups. Analysis of the polymerase and capsid genes has provided evidence for a huge genetic diversity, but the understanding of their ecology is limited. In this study, we investigated the presence of porcine enteric caliciviruses in the faeces of piglets with diarrhoea. A total of 209 samples from 118 herds were analyszd and calicivirus RNA was detected by RT-PCR in 68 sample (32.5%) and in 46 herds (38.9%), alone or in mixed infection with group A and C rotaviruses. Sequence and phylogenetic analysis of the calicivirus-positive samples characterized the majority as genogroup III (GGIII) sapoviruses. Unclassified caliciviruses, distantly related to the representatives of the other sapovirus genogroups, were identified in five herds, while one outbreak was associated with a porcine sapovirus related genetically to human GGII and GGIV sapovirus strains. By converse, norovirus strains were not detected. Altogether, these data suggest the epidemiological relevance of porcine enteric caliciviruses and suggest a role in the etiology of piglets diarrhoe
Molecular detection of canine bufaviruses in wild canids
Novel protoparvoviruses genetically related to human and non-human primate bufaviruses (BuVs) have been detected recently in respiratory and enteric specimens collected from dogs and cats. In this study, by molecular screening of archival collections of faecal samples from wolves and foxes, we detected BuVs with a rate of 17.1% (7/41) and 10.5% (9/86), respectively. Sequence analysis of a portion of the ORF2 gene region of nine positive samples showed that the viruses in these samples were closely related to BuVs (97.5–99.0% nucleotide sequence identity) found in domestic carnivores
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