367 research outputs found
Observation of Raman G-band splitting in top-doped few-layer graphene
An experimental study of Raman scattering in N-layer graphene as a function
of the top layer doping is reported. At high doping level, achieved by a CHF_3
plasma treatment, we observe a splitting of the band in the spectra of
bilayer and 4-layer graphene (N even), whereas the splitting is not visible in
case of monolayer and trilayer graphene (N odd). The different behaviors are
related to distinct electron-phonon interactions, which are affected by
symmetry breaking and Fermi level position in different ways in the various
N-layer graphenes. In trilayer graphene, a weakening of the electron-phonon
coupling as a function of the Fermi energy induces a hardening of all
zone-center in-plane optical phonon modes, like in monolayer graphene. On the
other hand, in 4-layer graphene two distinct trends are observed in the G band
as a function of doping, suggesting the presence of two different groups of
electron-phonon interactions, like in bilayer graphene.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, to be published in PR
Carrier mobility and scattering lifetime in electric double-layer gated few-layer graphene
We fabricate electric double-layer field-effect transistor (EDL-FET) devices
on mechanically exfoliated few-layer graphene. We exploit the large capacitance
of a polymeric electrolyte to study the transport properties of three, four and
five-layer samples under a large induced surface charge density both above and
below the glass transition temperature of the polymer. We find that the carrier
mobility shows a strong asymmetry between the hole and electron doping regime.
We then employ ab-initio density functional theory (DFT) calculations to
determine the average scattering lifetime from the experimental data. We
explain its peculiar dependence on the carrier density in terms of the specific
properties of the electrolyte we used in our experiments.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Fine morphological assessment of quality of human mature oocytes after slow freezing or vitrification with a closed device: a comparative analysis
BACKGROUND:
Human mature oocytes are very susceptible to cryodamage. Several reports demonstrated that vitrification might preserve oocyte better than slow freezing. However, this is still controversial. Thus, larger clinical, biological and experimental trials to confirm this concept are necessary. The aim of the study was to evaluate and compare fine morphological features in human mature oocytes cryopreserved with either slow freezing or vitrification.
METHODS:
We used 47 supernumerary human mature (metaphase II) oocytes donated by consenting patients, aged 27-32 years, enrolled in an IVF program. Thirtyfive oocytes were cryopreserved using slow freezing with 1.5 M propanediol +0.2 M sucrose concentration (20 oocytes) or a closed vitrification system (CryoTip Irvine Scientific CA) (15 oocytes). Twelve fresh oocytes were used as controls. All samples were prepared for light and transmission electron microscopy evaluation.
RESULTS:
Control, slow frozen/thawed and vitrified/warmed oocytes (CO, SFO and VO, respectively) were rounded, 90-100 mum in diameter, with normal ooplasm showing uniform distribution of organelles. Mitochondria-smooth endoplasmic reticulum (M-SER) aggregates and small mitochondria-vesicle (MV) complexes were the most numerous structures found in all CO, SFO and VO cultured for 3-4 hours. M-SER aggregates decreased, and large MV complexes increased in those SFO and VO maintained in culture for a prolonged period of time (8-9 hours). A slight to moderate vacuolization was present in the cytoplasm of SFO. Only a slight vacuolization was present in VO, whereas vacuoles were almost completely absent in CO. Amount and density of cortical granules (CG) appeared abnormally reduced in SFO and VO, irrespective of the protocol applied.
CONCLUSIONS:
Even though, both slow freezing and vitrification ensured a good overall preservation of the oocyte, we found that: 1) prolonged culture activates an intracellular membrane "recycling" that causes the abnormal transformation of the membranes of the small MV complexes and of SER into larger rounded vesicles; 2) vacuolization appears as a recurrent form of cell damage during slow freezing and, at a lesser extent, during vitrification using a closed device; 3) premature CG exocytosis was present in both SFO and VO and may cause zona pellucida hardenin
Temperature Dependence of Electric Transport in Few-layer Graphene under Large Charge Doping Induced by Electrochemical Gating
The temperature dependence of electric transport properties of single-layer
and few-layer graphene at large charge doping is of great interest both for the
study of the scattering processes dominating the conductivity at different
temperatures and in view of the theoretically predicted possibility to reach
the superconducting state in such extreme conditions. Here we present the
results obtained in 3-, 4- and 5-layer graphene devices down to 3.5 K, where a
large surface charge density up to about 6.8x10^14 cm^(-2) has been reached by
employing a novel polymer electrolyte solution for the electrochemical gating.
In contrast with recent results obtained in single-layer graphene, the
temperature dependence of the sheet resistance between 20 K and 280 K shows a
low-temperature dominance of a T^2 component - that can be associated with
electron-electron scattering - and, at about 100 K, a crossover to the classic
electron-phonon regime. Unexpectedly this crossover does not show any
dependence on the induced charge density, i.e. on the large tuning of the Fermi
energy.Comment: 13 pages, 6 color figure
Graphene-based mid-infrared room-temperature pyroelectric bolometers with ultrahigh temperature coefficient of resistance.
There is a growing number of applications demanding highly sensitive photodetectors in the mid-infrared. Thermal photodetectors, such as bolometers, have emerged as the technology of choice, because they do not need cooling. The performance of a bolometer is linked to its temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR, ∼2-4% K-1 for state-of-the-art materials). Graphene is ideally suited for optoelectronic applications, with a variety of reported photodetectors ranging from visible to THz frequencies. For the mid-infrared, graphene-based detectors with TCRs ∼4-11% K-1 have been demonstrated. Here we present an uncooled, mid-infrared photodetector, where the pyroelectric response of a LiNbO3 crystal is transduced with high gain (up to 200) into resistivity modulation for graphene. This is achieved by fabricating a floating metallic structure that concentrates the pyroelectric charge on the top-gate capacitor of the graphene channel, leading to TCRs up to 900% K-1, and the ability to resolve temperature variations down to 15 μK
Temperature Dependence of Electric Transport in Few-layer Graphene under Large Charge Doping Induced by Electrochemical Gating
The temperature dependence of electric transport properties of single-layer and few-layer graphene at large charge doping is of great interest both for the study of the scattering processes dominating the conductivity at different temperatures and in view of the theoretically predicted possibility to reach the superconducting state in such extreme conditions. Here we present the results obtained in 3-, 4- and 5-layer graphene devices down to 3.5 K, where a large surface charge density up to about 6.8·1014 cm-2 has been reached by employing a novel polymer electrolyte solution for the electrochemical gating. In contrast with recent results obtained in single-layer graphene, the temperature dependence of the sheet resistance between 20 K and 280 K shows a low-temperature dominance of a T2 component - that can be associated with electron-electron scattering - and, at about 100 K, a crossover to the classic electron-phonon regime. Unexpectedly, this crossover does not show any dependence on the induced charge density, i.e. on the large tuning of the Fermi energy
Graphene-based mid-infrared room-temperature pyroelectric bolometers with ultrahigh temperature coefficient of resistance
There is a growing number of applications demanding highly sensitive photodetectors in the mid-infrared. Thermal photodetectors, such as bolometers, have emerged as the technology of choice, because they do not need cooling. The performance of a bolometer is linked to its temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR 2–4%K^(-1) for state-of-the-art materials). Graphene is ideally suited for optoelectronic applications, with a variety of reported photodetectors ranging from visible to THz frequencies. For the mid-infrared, graphene-based detectors with TCRs 4–11%K^(-1) have been demonstrated. Here we present an uncooled, mid-infrared photodetector, where the pyroelectric response of a LiNbO3 crystal is transduced with high gain (up to 200) into resistivity modulation for graphene. This is achieved by fabricating a floating metallic structure that concentrates the pyroelectric charge on the top-gate capacitor of the graphene channel, leading to TCRs up to 900%K^(-1), and the ability to resolve temperature variations down to 15mK
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