Band gap renormalization in photoexcited semiconductor quantum wire structures in the GW approximation

We investigate the dynamical self-energy corrections of the electron-hole plasma due to electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions at the band edges of a quasi-one dimensional (1D) photoexcited electron-hole plasma. The leading-order $GW$ dynamical screening approximation is used in the calculation by treating electron-electron Coulomb interaction and electron-optical phonon Fr\"{o}hlich interaction on an equal footing. We calculate the exchange-correlation induced band gap renormalization (BGR) as a function of the electron-hole plasma density and the quantum wire width. The calculated BGR shows good agreement with existing experimental results, and the BGR normalized by the effective quasi-1D excitonic Rydberg exhibits an approximate one-parameter universality.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Precision determination of band offsets in strained InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells by C-V-profiling and Schroedinger-Poisson self-consistent simulation

The results of measurements and numerical simulation of charge carrier distribution and energy states in strained quantum wells In_xGa_{1-x}As/GaAs (0.06 < x < 0.29) by C-V-profiling are presented. Precise values of conduction band offsets for these pseudomorphic QWs have been obtained by means of self-consistent solution of Schroedinger and Poisson equations and following fitting to experimental data. For the conduction band offsets in strained In_xGa_{1-x}As/GaAs - QWs the expression DE_C(x) = 0.814x - 0.21x^2 has been obtained.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figures, RevTeX

Shifted Excitation Raman Difference Spectroscopy Applied to Extraterrestrial Particles Returned from the Asteroid Itokawa

Two extraterrestrial particles from the asteroid Itokawa are investigated applying Shifted Excitation Raman Difference Spectroscopy (SERDS). These particles were returned by the Hayabusa mission of the Japanese Space Agency JAXA. For SERDS a diode laser based microsystem light source at 488 nm is used for excitation. It has been found that fluorescence signals masking the Raman spectral features of interest can be substantially separated by applying SERDS. Therefore, SERDS improves the information obtained from the Raman spectra and enables a reliable analysis for investigations on extraterrestrial samples

Extraordinary carrier multiplication gated by a picosecond electric field pulse

The study of carrier multiplication has become an essential part of many-body physics and materials science as this multiplication directly affects nonlinear transport phenomena, and has a key role in designing efficient solar cells and electroluminescent emitters and highly sensitive photon detectors. Here we show that a 1-MVcm−1 electric field of a terahertz pulse, unlike a DC bias, can generate a substantial number of electron–hole pairs, forming excitons that emit near-infrared luminescence. The bright luminescence associated with carrier multiplication suggests that carriers coherently driven by a strong electric field can efficiently gain enough kinetic energy to induce a series of impact ionizations that can increase the number of carriers by about three orders of magnitude on the picosecond time scale

Peptides in headlock - a novel high-affinity and versatile peptide-binding nanobody for proteomics and microscopy

Nanobodies are highly valuable tools for numerous bioanalytical and biotechnical applications. Here, we report the characterization of a nanobody that binds a short peptide epitope with extraordinary affinity. Structural analysis reveals an unusual binding mode where the extended peptide becomes part of a β-sheet structure in the nanobody. This interaction relies on sequence-independent backbone interactions augmented by a small number of specificity-determining side chain contacts. Once bound, the peptide is fastened by two nanobody side chains that clamp it in a headlock fashion. Exploiting this unusual binding mode, we generated a novel nanobody-derived capture and detection system. Matrix-coupled nanobody enables the fast and efficient isolation of epitope-tagged proteins from prokaryotic and eukaryotic expression systems. Additionally, the fluorescently labeled nanobody visualizes subcellular structures in different cellular compartments. The high-affinity-binding and modifiable peptide tag of this system renders it a versatile and robust tool to combine biochemical analysis with microscopic studies

Extraterrestrial Particles Examined by Shifted Excitation Raman Difference Spectroscopy

Shifted Excitation Raman Difference Spectroscopy (SERDS) was applied to extraterrestrial particles. These particles were returned from an S-type near-Earth asteroid 25143 (“Itokawa”) by the JAXA space probe mission “Hayabusa” in 2010. Sample return missions are of particular interest for space research, because of the available state-of-the-art ground-based techniques and instrumentation. After complex treatments for first investigations such as in, the particles were examined with Raman spectroscopy. These Raman spectra are as a rule masked by a broad intense background, dominantly due to enhanced fluorescence, and do not allow clear interpretation. SERDS was applied using 488 nm laser excitation wavelength in order to separate the Raman signal from the background and therefore, to enable clear identification of mineralogical composition of the particles. Knowledge of the mineralogical composition is, among others, a necessary condition for the derivation of the particles’ exposure ages that are important for understanding the evolutionary history of the asteroid’s regolith