222 research outputs found
Resonant Transport in Nb/GaAs/AlGaAs/GaAs Microstructures
Resonant transport in a hybrid semiconductor-superconductor microstructure
grown by MBE on GaAs is presented. This structure experimentally realizes the
prototype system originally proposed by de Gennes and Saint-James in 1963 in
\emph{all}-metal structures. A low temperature single peak superimposed to the
characteristic Andreev-dominated subgap conductance represents the mark of such
resonant behavior. Random matrix theory of quantum transport was employed in
order to analyze the observed magnetotransport properties and ballistic effects
were included by directly solving the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations.Comment: 7 pages REVTeX, 4 figures, to be published by World Scientific in
Proceedings of International Symposium on Mesoscopic Superconductivity and
Spintronics (NTT R&D Center Atsugi, Japan, March 2002
Coulomb-Blockade directional coupler
A tunable directional coupler based on Coulomb Blockade effect is presented.
Two electron waveguides are coupled by a quantum dot to an injector waveguide.
Electron confinement is obtained by surface Schottky gates on single
GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction. Magneto-electrical measurements down to 350 mK are
presented and large transconductance oscillations are reported on both outputs
up to 4.2 K. Experimental results are interpreted in terms of Coulomb Blockade
effect and the relevance of the present design strategy for the implementation
of an electronic multiplexer is underlined.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Applied Physics Letter
Green fluorescent Protein-based pH indicators for in vivo use: a review
Green fluorescent protein (GFP) and its variants have been used as fluorescent reporters in a variety of applications for monitoring dynamic processes in cells and organisms, including gene expression, protein localization, and intracellular dynamics. GFP fluorescence is stable, species-independent, and can be monitored noninvasively in living cells by fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, or macroscopic imaging techniques. Owing to the presence of a phenol group on the chromophore, most GFP variants display pH-sensitive absorption and fluorescence bands. Such behavior has been exploited to genetically engineer encodable pH indicators for studies of pH regulation within specific intracellular compartments that cannot be probed using conventional pH-sensitive dyes. These pH indicators contributed to shedding light on a number of cell functions for which intracellular pH is an important modulator. In this review we discuss the photophysical properties that make GFPs so special as pH indicators for in vivo use and we describe the probes that are utilized most by the scientific community.Green fluorescent protein (GFP) and its variants have been used as fluorescent reporters in a variety of applications for monitoring dynamic processes in cells and organisms, including gene expression, protein localization, and intracellular dynamics. GFP fluorescence is stable, species-independent, and can be monitored noninvasively in living cells by fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, or macroscopic imaging techniques. Owing to the presence of a phenol group on the chromophore, most GFP variants display pH-sensitive absorption and fluorescence bands. Such behavior has been exploited to genetically engineer encodable pH indicators for studies of pH regulation within specific intracellular compartments that cannot be probed using conventional pH-sensitive dyes. These pH indicators contributed to shedding light on a number of cell functions for which intracellular pH is an important modulator. In this review we discuss the photophysical properties that make GFPs so special as pH indicators for in vivo use and we describe the probes that are utilized most by the scientific community. © 2008 Springer-Verlag
Delocalized-localized transition in a semiconductor two-dimensional honeycomb lattice
We report the magneto-transport properties of a two-dimensional electron gas
in a modulation-doped AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure subjected to a lateral
potential with honeycomb geometry. Periodic oscillations of the
magneto-resistance and a delocalized-localized transition are shown by applying
a gate voltage. We argue that electrons in such artificial-graphene lattices
offer a promising approach for the simulation of quantum phases dictated by
Coulomb interactions
Manipulation and Generation of Supercurrent in Out-of-Equilibrium Josephson Tunnel Nanojunctions
We demonstrate experimentally manipulation of supercurrent in Al-AlO_x-Ti
Josephson tunnel junctions by injecting quasiparticles in a Ti island from two
additional tunnel-coupled Al superconducting reservoirs. Both supercurrent
enhancement and quenching with respect to equilibrium are achieved. We
demonstrate cooling of the Ti line by quasiparticle injection from the normal
state deep into the superconducting phase. A model based on heat transport and
non-monotonic current-voltage characteristic of a Josephson junction
satisfactorily accounts for our findings.Comment: 4 pages, 4 colour figures, published versio
Superconductor-semiconductor magnetic microswitch
A hybrid superconductor--two-dimensional electron gas microdevice is
presented. Its working principle is based on the suppression of Andreev
reflection at the superconductor-semiconductor interface caused by a magnetic
barrier generated by a ferromagnetic strip placed on top of the structure.
Device switching is predicted with fields up to some mT and working frequencies
of several GHz, making it promising for applications ranging from microswitches
and storage cells to magnetic field discriminators.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, minor changes to tex
Transport in strongly-coupled graphene-LaAlO3/SrTiO3 hybrid systems
We report on the transport properties of hybrid devices obtained by
depositing graphene on a LaAlO3/SrTiO3 oxide junction hosting a 4 nm-deep
two-dimensional electron system. At low graphene-oxide inter-layer bias the two
electron systems are electrically isolated, despite their small spatial
separation, and very efficient reciprocal gating is shown. A pronounced
rectifying behavior is observed for larger bias values and ascribed to the
interplay between electrostatic depletion and tunneling across the LaAlO3
barrier. The relevance of these results in the context of strongly-coupled
bilayer systems is discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
Polydimethylsiloxane-LiNbO3 surface acoustic wave micropump devices for fluid control into microchannels.
This paper presents prototypical microfluidic devices made by hybrid microchannels based on piezoelectric LiNbO3 and polydimethylsiloxane. This system enables withdrawing micropumping by acoustic radiation in microchannels. The withdrawing configuration, integrated on chip, is here quantitatively investigated for the first time, and found to be related to the formation and coalescence dynamics of droplets within the microchannel, primed by surface acoustic waves. The growth dynamics of droplets is governed by the water diffusion on LiNbO3, determining the advancement of the fluid front. Observed velocities are up to 2.6 mm s−1 for 30 dBm signals applied to the interdigital transducer, corresponding to tens of nl s−1, and the micropumping dynamics is described by a model taking into account an acoustic power exponentially decaying upon travelling along the microchannel. This straighforward and flexible micropumping approach is particularly promising for the withdrawing of liquids in lab-on-chip devices performing cycling transport of fluids and biochemical reactions
- …