Flexible Photodiodes Based on Nitride Core/Shell p-n Junction Nanowires

International audienceA flexible nitride p-n photodiode is demonstrated. The device consists of a composite nanowire/polymer membrane trans- ferred onto a flexible substrate. The active element for light sensing is a vertical array of core/shell p−n junction nanowires containing InGaN/ GaN quantum wells grown by MOVPE. Electron/hole generation and transport in core/shell nanowires are modeled within nonequilibrium Green function formalism showing a good agreement with experimental results. Fully flexible transparent contacts based on a silver nanowire network are used for device fabrication, which allows bending the detector to a few millimeter curvature radius without damage. The detector shows a photoresponse at wavelengths shorter than 430 nm with a peak responsivity of 0.096 A/W at 370 nm under zero bias. The operation speed for a 0.3 × 0.3 cm2 detector patch was tested between 4 Hz and 2 kHz. The −3 dB cutoff was found to be ∼35 Hz, which is faster than the operation speed for typical photoconductive detectors and which is compatible with UV monitoring applications

Role of C677T and A1298C MTHFR, A2756G MTR and -786 C/T eNOS Gene Polymorphisms in Atrial Fibrillation Susceptibility

Hyperhomocysteinemia has been suggested to play a role in the NonValvular Atrial Fibrillation (NVAF) pathogenesis. Polymorphisms in genes coding for homocysteine (Hcy) metabolism enzymes may be associated with hyperhomocysteinemia and NVAF.456 NVAF patients and 912 matched controls were genotyped by an electronic microchip technology for C677T and A1298C MTHFR, A2756G MTR, and -786C/T eNOS gene polymorphisms. Hcy was determined by an immunoassay method.The genotype distribution of the four polymorphisms as well as genotype combinations did not differ in patients and controls. Hcy was higher in patients than in controls (15.2, 95%CI 14.7–15.7 vs 11.3, 95%CI 11.0–11.6 µmol/L; p<0.0001). In both populations, a genotype-phenotype association (p<0.0001) between Hcy and C677T MTHFR polymorphism was observed; in controls a significant (p = 0.029) association between tHcy and −786C/T eNOS polymorphism was also observed. At the multivariate analysis the NVAF risk significantly increased in the upper quartiles of Hcy compared to the lowest: OR from 2.8 (1.68–4.54 95%CI) in Q2 to 12.9 (7.96–21.06 95%CI) in Q4. or in combination

Comparison of junctionless and inversion-mode p-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors in presence of hole-phonon interactions

International audienceJunctionless transistors are being considered as one of the alternatives to conventional metal-oxide field-effect transistors. In this work, it is then presented a simulation study of silicon double-gated p-type junctionless transistors compared with its inversion-mode counterpart. The quantum transport problem is solved within the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism, whereas holephonon interactions are tackled by means of the self-consistent Born approximation. Our findings show that junctionless transistors should perform as good as a conventional transistor only for ultra-thin channels, with the disadvantage of requiring higher supply voltages in thicker channel configurations. (C) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC

Inelastic scattering in nanoscale devices: One-shot current-conserving lowest-order approximation

International audienceWe describe a lowest-order approximation (LOA) to the nonequilibrium Green's function in the presence of interactions, and generally address how one can build-derivable one-shot approximations that satisfy the continuity equation. These approximations produce conserved electronic currents in one shot, requiring only one self-energy evaluation and, when applicable, they are as accurate as but much faster than the corresponding self-consistent approximation. This challenges the currently adopted view that heavy self-consistent calculations are necessary to get a satisfactory prediction of transport in nanoscale structures. We illustrate this with the case of electron-phonon scattering expressed within the self-consistent Born approximation (SCBA). In the LOA, the SCBA is further approximated by accounting only for one-phonon processes. LOA and SCBA are compared in one-dimensional wire where electrons interact with one optical phonon mode at room temperature. The LOA is found to provide a considerable reduction in computational time. Its limitations and extensions to include two-phonon processes are discussed

Size and temperature dependence of the electron-phonon scattering by donors in nanowire transistors

International audienceDue to the constant size reduction, single-donor-based nanowire transistors receive an increasing interest from the semi-conductor industry. In this work we theoretically investigate the coupled influence of electron-phonon scattering, temperature and size (cross-section and channel length) on the properties of such systems. The aim is to determine under what conditions the localized character of the donor has a remarkable impact on the current characteristics. We use a quantum non-equilibrium Green's function approach in which the acoustic electron-phonon scattering is treated through local self-energies. We first show how this widely used approach, valid at high temperatures, can be extended to lower temperatures. Our simulations predict a hysteresis in the current when reducing the temperature down to 150 K. We also find that acoustic phonons degrade the current characteristics while their optical counterparts might have a beneficial impact with an increase of the ON-current. Finally we discuss the influence of nanowire length and cross-section and emphasize the complexity of precisely controlling the dopant level at room temperature. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Échantillonnage de matières en suspension par pièges à particules dans le Rhône: pertinence et représentativité pour la surveillance des contaminants

International audienceMonitoring hydrophobic contaminants in surface freshwaters requires measuring contaminant concentrations in the particulate fraction (sediment or suspended particulate matter, SPM) of the water column. Particle traps (PTs) have been recently developed to sample SPM as cost-efficient, easy to operate and time-integrative tools. But the representativeness of SPM collected with PTs is not fully understood, notably in terms of grain size distribution and particulate organic carbon (POC) content, which could both skew particulate contaminant concentrations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the representativeness of SPM characteristics (i.e. grain size distribution and POC content) and associated contaminants (i.e. polychlorinated biphenyls, PCBs; mercury, Hg) in samples collected in a large river using PTs for differing hydrological conditions. Samples collected using PTs (n = 74) were compared with samples collected during the same time period by continuous flow centrifugation (CFC). The grain size distribution of PT samples shifted with increasing water discharge: the proportion of very fine silts (2-6 µm) decreased while that of coarse silts (27-74 µm) increased. Regardless of water discharge, POC contents were different likely due to integration by PT of high POC-content phytoplankton blooms or low POC-content flood events. Differences in PCBs and Hg concentrations were usually within the range of analytical uncertainties and could not be related to grain size or POC content shifts. Occasional Hg-enriched inputs may have led to higher Hg concentrations in a few PT samples (n = 4) which highlights the time-integrative capacity of the PTs. The differences of annual Hg and PCB fluxes calculated either from PT samples or CFC samples were generally below 20%. Despite some inherent limitations (e.g. grain size distribution bias), our findings suggest that PT sampling is a valuable technique to assess reliable spatial and temporal trends of particulate contaminants such as PCBs and Hg within a river monitoring network

Inspection of thick welded joints using laser-ultrasonic SAFT

The detection of defects in thick butt joints in the early phase of multi-pass arc welding would be very valuable to reduce cost and time in the necessity of reworking. As a non-contact method, the laser-ultrasonic technique (LUT) has the potential for the automated inspection of welds, ultimately online during manufacturing. In this study, testing has been carried out using LUT combined with the synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) on 25 and 50 mm thick butt welded joints of steel both completed and partially welded. EDM slits of 2 or 3 mm height were inserted at different depths in the multi-pass welding process to simulate a lack of fusion. Line scans transverse to the weld are performed with the generation and detection laser spots superimposed directly on the surface of the weld bead. A CCD line camera is used to simultaneously acquire the surface profile for correction in the SAFT processing. All artificial defects but also real defects are visualized in the investigated thick butt weld specimens, either completed or partially welded after a given number of passes. The results obtained clearly show the potential of using the LUT with SAFT for the automated inspection of arc welds or hybrid laser-arc welds during manufacturing.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Collaborative tools for integrated management of a large river system: the Rhône river (France) IndexMeed Consortium (Indexing for Mining Ecological and Environmental Data) View project From traditional uses to an integrated valorisation of sediments in the Usumacinta river basin View project

Consortium (Indexing for Mining Ecological and Environmental Data) View project From traditional uses to an integrated valorisation of sediments in the Usumacinta river basinInternational audienc