Observation of surface states on heavily indium doped SnTe(111), a superconducting topological crystalline insulator

The topological crystalline insulator tin telluride is known to host superconductivity when doped with indium (Sn$_{1-x}$In$_{x}$Te), and for low indium contents ($x=0.04$) it is known that the topological surface states are preserved. Here we present the growth, characterization and angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy analysis of samples with much heavier In doping (up to $x\approx0.4$), a regime where the superconducting temperature is increased nearly fourfold. We demonstrate that despite strong p-type doping, Dirac-like surface states persist

Microstructure and Thermal Stability of Transition Metal Nitrides and Borides on GaN

Microstructure and thermal stability of ZrN/ZrB2 bilayer deposited on GaN have been studied using transmission electron microscopy methods (TEM) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). It has been demonstrated that annealing of the contact structure at 1100 C in N2 atmosphere does not lead to any observable metal/ semiconductor interaction. In contrast, a failure of the integrity of ZrN/ZrB2 metallization at 800 C, when the heat treatment is performed in O2 ambient has been observed

MICROSTRUCTURE AND THERMAL STABILITY OF TRANSITION METAL NITRIDES AND BORIDES ON GaN

ABSTRACT Microstructure and thermal stability of ZrN/ZrB 2 bilayer deposited on GaN have been studied using transmission electron microscopy methods (TEM) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). It has been demonstrated that annealing of the contact structure at 1100 0 C in N 2 atmosphere does not lead to any observable metal/ semiconductor interaction. In contrast, a failure of the integrity of ZrN/ZrB 2 metallization at 800 0 C, when the heat treatment is performed in O 2 ambient has been observed

Resonant Photoemission Spectroscopy study on the contribution of the Yb4f states to the electronic structure of ZnO

The electronic structure of Yb implanted ZnO has been studied by the resonant photoemission spectroscopy (RPES). The contribution of Yb 4f partial density of states (PDOS) is predominant in the binding energy (BE) about 7.5 and ~11.7 eV below the VB maximum. At the resonance energy, around 182 eV, the multiplet structure with the highest BE shows the strongest resonance (around 11.7 eV) that corresponds to the 1I multiplet which is almost exclusively responsible for this resonance, while 3H and 3F states are responsible for the resonance around 7.5 eV. It was also found that the Yb 4f PDOS distribution shows some similarity to Yb2O3

Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor Antagonist Blocks the Development of Endometriosis In Vivo

Endometriosis, a disease of reproductive age women, is a major cause of infertility, menstrual disorders and pelvic pain. Little is known about its etiopathology, but chronic pelvic inflammation is a common feature in affected women. Beside symptomatic treatment of endometriosis-associated pain, only two main suboptimal therapeutic approaches (hormonal and invasive surgery) are generally recommended to patients and no specific targeted treatment is available. Our studies led to the detection of a marked increase in the expression of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) in the eutopic endometrium, the peripheral blood and the peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis, and in early, vascularized and active endometriotic lesions. Herein, we developed a treatment model of endometriosis, where human endometrial tissue was first allowed to implant into the peritoneal cavity of nude mice, to assess in vivo the effect of a specific antagonist of MIF (ISO-1) on the progression of endometriosis and evaluate its efficacy as a potential therapeutic tool. Administration of ISO-1 led to a significant decline of the number, size and in situ dissemination of endometriotic lesions. We further showed that ISO-1 may act by significantly inhibiting cell adhesion, tissue remodeling, angiogenesis and inflammation as well as by altering the balance of pro- and anti-apoptotic factors. Actually, mice treatment with ISO-1 significantly reduced the expression of cell adhesion receptors αv and ß3 integrins (P<0.05), matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) 2 and 9 (P<0.05), vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF) (P<0.01), interleukin 8 (IL8) (P<0.05), cyclooxygenease (COX)2 (P<0.001) and the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl2 (P<0.01), but significantly induced the expression of Bax (P<0.05), a potent pro-apoptotic protein. These data provide evidence that specific inhibition of MIF alters endometriotic tissue growth and progression in vivo and may represent a promising potential therapeutic avenue

Interfacial Reactions between Thin Films of Zinc and (100)InP

The effects of interaction between thin films of Zn and (100)InP were studied with secondary ion mass spectrometry, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Zn was found to penetrate the native oxide on InP surface during deposition and to form an ohmic contact when deposited on highly doped n-type InP. Heat treatment causes the formation of Zn$\text{}_{3}$P$\text{}_{2}$ phase lattice matched to InP

Non-standard coupled extensional and bending bias tests for planar pantographic lattices. Part I: numerical simulations

In dell’Isola et al. (Zeitschrift für Angewandte Math und Physik 66(6):3473–3498, 2015, Proc R Soc Lond A Math Phys Eng Sci 472(2185), 2016), the concept of pantographic sheet is proposed. The aim is to design a metamaterial showing: (i) a large range of elastic response; (ii) an extreme toughness in extensional deformation; (iii) a convenient ratio between toughness and weight. However, these required properties must coexist with non-detrimental mechanical characteristics in the presence of other kinds of imposed displacements. The aim of this paper is to prove via numerical simulations that pantographic sheets may effectively resist to coupled bending and extensional deformations. The four-parameter model introduced shows its versatility as it is able to encompass all the considered types of (large) deformations. The numerical integration scheme which we use is based on the same concepts exploited in Turco et al. (Zeitschrift für Angewandte Math und Physik 67(4):1–28, 2016): They prove that the Hencky-type discretization is very efficient also in nonlinear large deformations and large displacements regimes. In Part II of this paper, we will show that the used models are very effective to describe experimental evidence

Microstructure and thermal stability of transition metal nitrides and borides on GaN

Microstructure and thermal stability of ZrN/ZrB2 bilayer deposited on GaN have been studied using transmission electron microscopy methods (TEM) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). It has been demonstrated that annealing of the contact structure at 1100 C in N2 atmosphere does not lead to any observable metal/ semiconductor interaction. In contrast, a failure of the integrity of ZrN/ZrB2 metallization at 800 C, when the heat treatment is performed in O2 ambient has been observed