Characterization of boron carbide thin films fabricated by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition from boranes

We have fabricated boron carbide thin films on Si(111) and other substrates by plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor deposition (PECVD). The PECVD of boron carbides from nido-cage boranes, specially nido-pentaborane(9) (B5H9), and methane ( CH4) is demonstrated. The band gap is closely correlated with the boron to carbon ratio and can range from 0.77 to 1.80 eV and is consistent with the thermal activation barrier of 1.25 eV for conductivity. We have made boron carbide by PECVD from pentaborane and methane that is sufficiently isotropic to obtain resistivities as large as 1010 Ω cm at room temperature. This material is also shown to be suitable for photoactive p-n heterojunction diode fabrication in combination with Si( 111)

Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA of Trichoderma isolates and antagonism against Rhizoctonia solani

Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) procedure was used to examine the genetic variability among fourteen isolates of Trichoderma and their ability to antagonize Rhizoctonia solani using a dual-culture assay for correlation among RAPD products and their hardness to R. solani. Seven oligodeoxynucleotide primers were selected for the RAPD assays which resulted in 197 bands for 14 isolates of Trichoderma. The data were entered into a binary matrix and a similarity matrix was constructed using DICE similarity (SD) index. A UPGMA cluster based on SD values was generated using NTSYS (Numerical Taxonomy System, Applied Biostatistics) computer program. A mean coefficient of similarity obtained for pairwise comparisons among the most antagonics isolates was around 40%. The results presented here showed that the variability among the isolates of Trichoderma was very high. No relationship was found between the polymorphism showed by the isolates and their hardness, origin and substrata.<br>A técnica de RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) foi utilizada para examinar a variabilidade genética em quatorze isolados de Trichoderma além de sua capacidade de antagonizar o fungo fitopatogênico Rhizoctonia solani usando pareamento in vitro, e a possível relação entre perfís de RAPD e agressividade dos isolados de Trichoderma a R. solani. Foram selecionados sete primers para os ensaios de RAPD, os quais produziram 197 bandas. Os dados foram introduzidos no programa de computador NTSYS (Numerical Taxonomy System, Applied Biostatistics)na forma de uma matrix binária, sendo construída uma matriz de similaridade utilizando-se o coeficiente de similaridade de DICE (SD) e baseado nos valores SD, pelo método de agrupamento UPGMA um dendrograma. Observou-se que o grau de similaridade das amostras que apresentaram melhor desempenho antagônico foi bastante baixo, em torno de 40%. Os resultados demonstraram que a variabilidade entre os isolados de Trichoderma é muito alta. Aparentemente não foi demonstrada nenhuma relação entre o perfil de RAPD obtido e o nível de antagonismo dos isolados de Trichoderma nem agrupamento em função da origem dos isolados ou substrato