Acoustic Phonon-Assisted Resonant Tunneling via Single Impurities

We perform the investigations of the resonant tunneling via impurities embedded in the AlAs barrier of a single GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. In the $I(V)$ characteristics measured at 30mK, the contribution of individual donors is resolved and the fingerprints of phonon assistance in the tunneling process are seen. The latter is confirmed by detailed analysis of the tunneling rates and the modeling of the resonant tunneling contribution to the current. Moreover, fluctuations of the local structure of the DOS (LDOS) and Fermi edge singularities are observed.Comment: accepted in Phys. Rev.

Protecting Vulnerable Research Subjects in Critical Care Trials: Enhancing the Informed Consent Process and Recommendations for Safeguards

Although critically ill patients represent a vulnerable group of individuals, guidelines in research ethics assert that ethically acceptable research may proceed with such vulnerable subjects if additional safeguards are in place to minimize the risk of harm and exploitation. Such safeguards include the proper obtainment of informed consent that avoids the presence of the therapeutic misconception and the assessment of decisional capacity in critically ill patients recruited for research. Also discussed in this review are additional safeguards for such vulnerable subjects, as well as the issues involved with proxy consent. Heightened awareness to principles of ethics and provision of additional safeguards to enhance protections of vulnerable subjects would help to maintain the public trust in the research endeavor

Key stakeholder perceptions about consent to participate in acute illness research: a rapid, systematic review to inform epi/pandemic research preparedness

Background A rigorous research response is required to inform clinical and public health decision-making during an epi/pandemic. However, the ethical conduct of such research, which often involves critically ill patients, may be complicated by the diminished capacity to consent and an imperative to initiate trial therapies within short time frames. Alternative approaches to taking prospective informed consent may therefore be used. We aimed to rapidly review evidence on key stakeholder (patients, their proxy decision-makers, clinicians and regulators) views concerning the acceptability of various approaches for obtaining consent relevant to pandemic-related acute illness research. Methods We conducted a rapid evidence review, using the Internet, database and hand-searching for English language empirical publications from 1996 to 2014 on stakeholder opinions of consent models (prospective informed, third-party, deferred, or waived) used in acute illness research. We excluded research on consent to treatment, screening, or other such procedures, non-emergency research and secondary studies. Papers were categorised, and data summarised using narrative synthesis. Results We screened 689 citations, reviewed 104 full-text articles and included 52. Just one paper related specifically to pandemic research. In other emergency research contexts potential research participants, clinicians and research staff found third-party, deferred, and waived consent to be acceptable as a means to feasibly conduct such research. Acceptability to potential participants was motivated by altruism, trust in the medical community, and perceived value in medical research and decreased as the perceived risks associated with participation increased. Discrepancies were observed in the acceptability of the concept and application or experience of alternative consent models. Patients accepted clinicians acting as proxy-decision makers, with preference for two decision makers as invasiveness of interventions increased. Research regulators were more cautious when approving studies conducted with alternative consent models; however, their views were generally under-represented. Conclusions Third-party, deferred, and waived consent models are broadly acceptable to potential participants, clinicians and/or researchers for emergency research. Further consultation with key stakeholders, particularly with regulators, and studies focused specifically on epi/pandemic research, are required. We highlight gaps and recommendations to inform set-up and protocol development for pandemic research and institutional review board processes

Highly sensitive nanohall sensors on GaAlAs/GaAs heterojunctions

International audienceWe present an experimental study on the performance of nano-Hall sensors made on the two dimensional electron gaz of a pseudo morphic GaAlAs/GaInAs heterostructures. The active area of the sensor is from sub-micronic scale (down to 500 nm) to 5 microns. Ohmic contacts have micronic size, and a reference sample of 80 micron width has been caracterized as well, as a reference. In our process, we have improved the contacts technology to limit the thermal Shottky noise. Thus although ohmic contacts have small dimensions they have low resistance and do not limit the sensitivity of our nano-sensors. Extensive caracterization of those devices demonstrate a diffusive transport at 300 K, and a magnetic field sensitivity up to 1000 V/T/A. We have focused our attention on the smallest detectable magnetic field in the smallest sensor, and performed a systematic study of the noise measurements. We have measured the excess noise in both the longitudinal configuration and the Hall configuration, as a function of the current. Our noise measurements performed at room temperature in the range [1 Hz-100 kHz] show, at low frequency, an 1/f noise spectrum whose intensity is proportional to the square of the current. We understand our data by the conductivity fluctuations model and we obtain the Hooge parameter for this technology. We demonstrate that the noise intensity is inversely proportional to area of the sensor. Of course reducing the dimensions induces physical limitations but we demonstrate that a magnetic field of few μT can be measured with a micron scale sensor at low frequencies; at higher frequencies, when the thermal noise limits the resolution, the measurement of 300 nT is achievabl

Highly sensitive nanohall sensors on GaAlAs/GaAs heterojunctions

International audienceWe present an experimental study on the performance of nano-Hall sensors made on the two dimensional electron gaz of a pseudo morphic GaAlAs/GaInAs heterostructures. The active area of the sensor is from sub-micronic scale (down to 500 nm) to 5 microns. Ohmic contacts have micronic size, and a reference sample of 80 micron width has been caracterized as well, as a reference. In our process, we have improved the contacts technology to limit the thermal Shottky noise. Thus although ohmic contacts have small dimensions they have low resistance and do not limit the sensitivity of our nano-sensors. Extensive caracterization of those devices demonstrate a diffusive transport at 300 K, and a magnetic field sensitivity up to 1000 V/T/A. We have focused our attention on the smallest detectable magnetic field in the smallest sensor, and performed a systematic study of the noise measurements. We have measured the excess noise in both the longitudinal configuration and the Hall configuration, as a function of the current. Our noise measurements performed at room temperature in the range [1 Hz-100 kHz] show, at low frequency, an 1/f noise spectrum whose intensity is proportional to the square of the current. We understand our data by the conductivity fluctuations model and we obtain the Hooge parameter for this technology. We demonstrate that the noise intensity is inversely proportional to area of the sensor. Of course reducing the dimensions induces physical limitations but we demonstrate that a magnetic field of few μT can be measured with a micron scale sensor at low frequencies; at higher frequencies, when the thermal noise limits the resolution, the measurement of 300 nT is achievabl

Coulomb interactions and effective quantum inertia of charge carriers in a macroscopic conductor

International audienc

Effective quantum inertia of charge carriers in a macroscopic conductor

We study the low frequency admittance of a quantum Hall bar of size much larger than the electronic coherence length. We find that this macroscopic conductor behaves as an ideal quantum conductor with vanishing longitudinal resistance and purely inductive behavior up to f 1 MHz. Using several measurement configurations, we study the dependence of this inductance on the length of the edge channel and on the integer quantum Hall filling fraction. The experimental data are well described by a scattering model for edge magnetoplasmons taking into account effective long range Coulomb interactions within the sample. This demonstrates that the inductance's dependence on the filling fraction arises from the effective quantum inertia of charge carriers induced by Coulomb interactions within an ungated macroscopic quantum Hall bar

Are aharonov-bohm effect and quantized hall regime compatible?

11th International Symposium on Nanostructures - Physics and Technology, St Petersburg, RUSSIA, JUN 23-28, 2003International audienceWe present calculations of the quantum oscillations appearing in the transmission of a mesoscopic GaAs/GaAlAs ring isolated by quantum point contacts. We show that the device acts as an electronic Fabry-Perot spectrometer in the quantum Hall effect regime, and discuss the effect of the coherence length of edge states

Edge states interferometer: an electronic Fabry-Perot

7th International Symposium on Research in High Magnetic Fields, Inst Natl Sci Appl, Toulouse, FRANCE, JUL 20-23, 2003We present preliminary experiments on Aharonov-Bohm interferometers. We have made mesoscopic semiconductor GaAs/GaAlAs rings in which the interference phenomenon still exists in presence of a high magnetic field. This electronic interferometer is an N waves interferometer like the optical Fabry-Perot system. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved