Evolution of InAs branches in InAs/GaAs nanowire heterostructures

Branched nanowireheterostructures of InAs∕GaAs were observed during Au-assisted growth of InAs on GaAsnanowires. The evolution of these branches has been determined through detailed electron microscopy characterization with the following sequence: (1) in the initial stage of InAsgrowth, the Au droplet is observed to slide down the side of the GaAsnanowire, (2) the downward movement of Aunanoparticle later terminates when the nanoparticle encounters InAsgrowing radially on the GaAsnanowire sidewalls, and (3) with further supply of In and As vapor reactants, the Aunanoparticles assist the formation of InAs branches with a well-defined orientation relationship with GaAs∕InAs core/shell stems. We anticipate that these observations advance the understanding of the kink formation in axial nanowireheterostructures.The Australian Research Council is acknowledged for the financial support of this project. One of the authors M.P. acknowledges the support of an International Postgraduate Research Scholarship

Tunable effective g-factor in InAs nanowire quantum dots

We report tunneling spectroscopy measurements of the Zeeman spin splitting in InAs few-electron quantum dots. The dots are formed between two InP barriers in InAs nanowires with a wurtzite crystal structure grown by chemical beam epitaxy. The values of the electron g-factors of the first few electrons entering the dot are found to strongly depend on dot size and range from close to the InAs bulk value in large dots |g^*|=13 down to |g^*|=2.3 for the smallest dots. These findings are discussed in view of a simple model.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Model Reduction on the Wnt Pathway Leads to Biological Adaptation

Complex systems are an unavoidable problem in the field of biology. One of the ways that scientists have tried to overcome this problem is by building mathematical models—manageable representations designed to look at specific physical phenomena. The Wnt Signaling Pathway is a complex system known to regulate cell-to-cell interactions, play a crucial role in Embryonic Development, and has been implicated in the study of cancer. Typically, the Wnt signal is observed through the behavior of a protein called beta-Catenin (β-Catenin). In 2003, Lee et al. built a model of the Wnt pathway which caused β-Catenin to increase over time. However, in 2010, Jensen et al. built a different model of the Wnt pathway which caused β-Catenin to oscillate over time. This project called for model reduction on the Jensen et al. model to identify the phenomenological parameter combinations that determined features of the Wnt oscillations. The method used to reduce the model is called the Manifold Boundary Approximation Method, which is a geometric, parameter-independent method of reducing the model one parameter at a time. Reduction of the model showed that there were 5 variables and 8 parameters which drove the oscillating behavior of the system. After comparing our results to the Lee et al. reduced model of the Wnt pathway done by student Dane Bjork, a minimal model was constructed which predicted a novel class behavior of the Wnt system: biological adaptation

Model Reduction on the Wnt Pathway Leads to Biological Adaptation

Complex systems are an unavoidable problem in the field of biology. One of the ways that scientists have tried to overcome this problem is by building mathematical models—manageable representations designed to look at specific physical phenomena. The Wnt Signaling Pathway is a complex system known to regulate cell-to-cell interactions, play a crucial role in Embryonic Development, and has been implicated in the study of cancer. Typically, the Wnt signal is observed through the behavior of a protein called beta-Catenin (β-Catenin). In 2003, Lee et al. built a model of the Wnt pathway which caused β-Catenin to increase over time. However, in 2010, Jensen et al. built a different model of the Wnt pathway which caused β-Catenin to oscillate over time. This project called for model reduction on the Jensen et al. model to identify the phenomenological parameter combinations that determined features of the Wnt oscillations. The method used to reduce the model is called the Manifold Boundary Approximation Method, which is a geometric, parameter-independent method of reducing the model one parameter at a time. Reduction of the model showed that there were 5 variables and 8 parameters which drove the oscillating behavior of the system. After comparing our results to the Lee et al. reduced model of the Wnt pathway done by student Dane Bjork, a minimal model was constructed which predicted a novel class behavior of the Wnt system: biological adaptation

Electron and hole spectra in quantum wire with two quantum dots in the electric field

The energy spectrum of electron and hole is investigated in a complicated nanoheterosystem consisting of two cylindrical semiconductor quantum dots placed into semiconductor quantum wire. Quantum dots are separated by barrier-layer, which is under the action of a constant electric field. The dependencies of electron and hole energies on geometric parameters of quantum dots and electric field intensity are analysed

Sediment phosphorus flux in Beaver Lake in Northwest Arkansas

Internal phosphorus (P) loading may influence primary production in lakes, but the influence of sediment-derived P has not been well studied in Beaver Lake of Northwest Arkansas. Soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), dissolved organic P (DOP), and total dissolved P (TDP) sediment-water fluxes were determined using intact sediment cores collected from deepwater environments in the riverine, transition zone, and lacustrine zones of Beaver Lake. The SRP, DOP, and TDP fluxes were also estimated from cores collected from shallow locations in the transition zone. There was a net positive SRP (0.001 – 0.005 µg P cm-2 h-1), DOP (0.005 – 0.01 µg P cm-2 h-1), and TDP (0.005 – 0.01 µg P cm-2 h-1) flux from deepwater sediments into the water column. However, DOP and TDP flux in shallow sediments were net negative (-0.004 and -0.002 µg P cm-2 h-1, respectively), suggesting that the majority of P was moving from water into sediment. The SRP flux from shallow sediments in the transition zone was similar to rates observed in deepwater sediments (0.002 µg P cm-2 h-1). However, the variability among flux rates, sites and depths was high, and therefore no statistical differences were found. Sediment oxygen demand was positively correlated with SRP and DOP flux rates from shallow transition zone sediments suggesting that microbial biomass and activity may have influenced sediment P flux. The P flux from shallow sediments supports approximately 1% to 5% of the daily P demand of phytoplankton. When compared to other lakes, sediment P flux in Beaver Lake appears minimal and is probably not an effective avenue to manage eutrophication in this system

Imaging a 1-electron InAs quantum dot in an InAs/InP nanowire

Nanowire heterostructures define high-quality few-electron quantum dots for nanoelectronics, spintronics and quantum information processing. We use a cooled scanning probe microscope (SPM) to image and control an InAs quantum dot in an InAs/InP nanowire, using the tip as a movable gate. Images of dot conductance vs. tip position at T = 4.2 K show concentric rings as electrons are added, starting with the first electron. The SPM can locate a dot along a nanowire and individually tune its charge, abilities that will be very useful for the control of coupled nanowire dots

Development and operation of research-scale III-V nanowire growth reactors

III-V nanowires are useful platforms for studying the electronic and mechanical properties of materials at the nanometer scale. However, the costs associated with commercial nanowire growth reactors are prohibitive for most research groups. We developed hot-wall and cold-wall metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) reactors for the growth of InAs nanowires, which both use the same gas handling system. The hot-wall reactor is based on an inexpensive quartz tube furnace and yields InAs nanowires for a narrow range of operating conditions. Improvement of crystal quality and an increase in growth run to growth run reproducibility are obtained using a homebuilt UHV cold-wall reactor with a base pressure of 2 X 10$^{-9}$ Torr. A load-lock on the UHV reactor prevents the growth chamber from being exposed to atmospheric conditions during sample transfers. Nanowires grown in the cold-wall system have a low defect density, as determined using transmission electron microscopy, and exhibit field effect gating with mobilities approaching 16,000 cm$^2$(V.s).Comment: Related papers at http://pettagroup.princeton.ed