476 research outputs found
Direct evidence for efficient ultrafast charge separation in epitaxial WS/graphene heterostructure
We use time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (tr-ARPES) to
investigate ultrafast charge transfer in an epitaxial heterostructure made of
monolayer WS and graphene. This heterostructure combines the benefits of a
direct gap semiconductor with strong spin-orbit coupling and strong
light-matter interaction with those of a semimetal hosting massless carriers
with extremely high mobility and long spin lifetimes. We find that, after
photoexcitation at resonance to the A-exciton in WS, the photoexcited holes
rapidly transfer into the graphene layer while the photoexcited electrons
remain in the WS layer. The resulting charge transfer state is found to
have a lifetime of \,ps. We attribute our findings to differences in
scattering phase space caused by the relative alignment of WS and graphene
bands as revealed by high resolution ARPES. In combination with spin-selective
excitation using circularly polarized light the investigated WS/graphene
heterostructure might provide a new platform for efficient optical spin
injection into graphene.Comment: 28 pages, 14 figure
Direct evidence for efficient ultrafast charge separation in epitaxial WS<sub>2</sub>/graphene heterostructures
We use time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (tr-ARPES) to investigate ultrafast charge transfer in an epitaxial heterostructure made of monolayer WS2 and graphene. This heterostructure combines the benefits of a direct-gap semiconductor with strong spin-orbit coupling and strong light-matter interaction with those of a semimetal hosting massless carriers with extremely high mobility and long spin lifetimes. We find that, after photoexcitation at resonance to the A-exciton in WS2, the photoexcited holes rapidly transfer into the graphene layer while the photoexcited electrons remain in the WS2 layer. The resulting charge-separated transient state is found to have a lifetime of ∼1 ps. We attribute our findings to differences in scattering phase space caused by the relative alignment of WS2 and graphene bands as revealed by high-resolution ARPES. In combination with spin-selective optical excitation, the investigated WS2/graphene heterostructure might provide a platform for efficient optical spin injection into graphene
Cell surface localization of tissue transglutaminase is dependent on a fibronectin-binding site in its N-terminal beta-sandwich domain
Increasing evidence indicates that tissue transglutaminase (tTG) plays a role in the assembly and remodeling of extracellular matrices and promotes cell adhesion. Using an inducible system we have previously shown that tTG associates with the extracellular matrix deposited by stably transfected 3T3 fibroblasts overexpressing the enzyme. We now show by confocal microscopy that tTG colocalizes with pericellular fibronectin in these cells, and by immunogold electron microscopy that the two proteins are found in clusters at the cell surface. Expression vectors encoding the full-length tTG or a N-terminal truncated tTG lacking the proposed fibronectin-binding site (fused to the bacterial reporter enzyme β-galactosidase) were generated to characterize the role of fibronectin in sequestration of tTG in the pericellular matrix. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay style procedures using extracts of transiently transfected COS-7 cells and immobilized fibronectin showed that the truncation abolished fibronectin binding. Similarly, the association of tTG with the pericellular matrix of cells in suspension or with the extracellular matrix deposited by cell monolayers was prevented by the truncation. These results demonstrate that tTG binds to the pericellular fibronectin coat of cells via its N-terminal β-sandwich domain and that this interaction is crucial for cell surface association of tTG
Experimental time-resolved photoemission and ab initio study of lifetimes of excited electrons in Mo and Rh
We have studied the relaxation dynamics of optically excited electrons in
molybdenum and rhodium by means of time resolved two-photon photoemission
spectroscopy (TR-2PPE) and ab initio electron self-energy calculations
performed within the GW and GW+T approximations. Both theoretical approaches
reproduce qualitatively the experimentally observed trends and differences in
the lifetimes of excited electrons in molybdenum and rhodium. For excitation
energies exceeding the Fermi energy by more than 1 eV, the GW+T theory yields
lifetimes in quantitative agreement with the experimental results. As one of
the relevant mechanisms causing different excited state lifetime in Mo and Rh
we identify the occupation of the 4d bands. An increasing occupation of the 4d
bands results in an efficient decrease of the lifetime even for rather small
excitation energies of a few 100 meV.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figure
Tracking primary thermalization events in graphene with photoemission at extreme timescales
Direct and inverse Auger scattering are amongst the primary processes that
mediate the thermalization of hot carriers in semiconductors. These two
processes involve the annihilation or generation of an electron-hole pair by
exchanging energy with a third carrier, which is either accelerated or
decelerated. Inverse Auger scattering is generally suppressed, as the
decelerated carriers must have excess energies higher than the band gap itself.
In graphene, which is gapless, inverse Auger scattering is instead predicted to
be dominant at the earliest time delays. Here, femtosecond
extreme-ultraviolet pulses are used to detect this imbalance, tracking both the
number of excited electrons and their kinetic energy with time- and
angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Over a time window of approximately
25 fs after absorption of the pump pulse, we observe an increase in conduction
band carrier density and a simultaneous decrease of the average carrier kinetic
energy, revealing that relaxation is in fact dominated by inverse Auger
scattering. Measurements of carrier scattering at extreme timescales by
photoemission will serve as a guide to ultrafast control of electronic
properties in solids for PetaHertz electronics.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure
Ultrafast Momentum Imaging of Pseudospin-Flip Excitations in Graphene
The pseudospin of Dirac electrons in graphene manifests itself in a peculiar
momentum anisotropy for photo-excited electron-hole pairs. These interband
excitations are in fact forbidden along the direction of the light
polarization, and are maximum perpendicular to it. Here, we use time- and
angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to investigate the resulting
unconventional hot carrier dynamics, sampling carrier distributions as a
function of energy and in-plane momentum. We first show that the
rapidly-established quasi-thermal electron distribution initially exhibits an
azimuth-dependent temperature, consistent with relaxation through collinear
electron-electron scattering. Azimuthal thermalization is found to occur only
at longer time delays, at a rate that depends on the substrate and the static
doping level. Further, we observe pronounced differences in the electron and
hole dynamics in n-doped samples. By simulating the Coulomb- and
phonon-mediated carrier dynamics we are able to disentangle the influence of
excitation fluence, screening, and doping, and develop a microscopic picture of
the carrier dynamics in photo-excited graphene. Our results clarify new aspects
of hot carrier dynamics that are unique to Dirac materials, with relevance for
photo-control experiments and optoelectronic device applications.Comment: 23 pages, 12 figure
Spin-flip processes and ultrafast magnetization dynamics in Co - unifying the microscopic and macroscopic view of femtosecond magnetism
The femtosecond magnetization dynamics of a thin cobalt film excited with
ultrashort laser pulses has been studied using two complementary pump-probe
techniques, namely spin-, energy- and time-resolved photoemission and
time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect. Combining the two methods it is
possible to identify the microscopic electron spin-flip mechanisms responsible
for the ultrafast macroscopic magnetization dynamics of the cobalt film. In
particular, we show that electron-magnon excitation does not affect the overall
magnetization even though it is an efficient spin-flip channel on the sub-200
fs timescale. Instead we find experimental evidence for the relevance of
Elliott-Yafet type spin-flip processes for the ultrafast demagnetization taking
place on a time scale of 300 fs.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures; accepted by Physical Review Letter
Comparison in the immunological properties of Borrelia burgdorferi isolates from Ixodes ricinus derived from three endemic areas in Switzerland
Borrelia burgdorferi isolates were obtained from Ixodes ricinus from three sites in Switzerland. They were examined by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting. The phenotypes, in respect of three outer surface proteins (Osp), differed between the sites of collection. In site 1, most isolates had an OspA of 31 kDa and an OspB of 34 kDa: in site 2, isolates presenting an OspA of 33 kDa dominated and in site 3, the isolates with an OspA of 32 kDa and an OspB of 35 kDa were most frequent. This distribution differed significantly. About half of the isolates from sites 1 and 3 reacted with anti-OspA monoclonal antibody H5332 compared to 29% from site 2. Site 1 isolates reacted significantly more frequently (81 %) with another anti-OspA monoclonal antibody LA-31 than isolates from site 3 (P < 0·0001). These findings have implications for the epidemiology of Lyme borreliosis, for the further development of serodiagnostic reagents and for the development of a vaccin
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