45 research outputs found
Why Some Interfaces Cannot be Sharp
A central goal of modern materials physics and nanoscience is control of
materials and their interfaces to atomic dimensions. For interfaces between
polar and non-polar layers, this goal is thwarted by a polar catastrophe that
forces an interfacial reconstruction. In traditional semiconductors this
reconstruction is achieved by an atomic disordering and stoichiometry change at
the interface, but in multivalent oxides a new option is available: if the
electrons can move, the atoms don`t have to. Using atomic-scale electron energy
loss spectroscopy we find that there is a fundamental asymmetry between
ionically and electronically compensated interfaces, both in interfacial
sharpness and carrier density. This suggests a general strategy to design sharp
interfaces, remove interfacial screening charges, control the band offset, and
hence dramatically improving the performance of oxide devices.Comment: 12 pages of text, 6 figure
Imaging and Dynamics of Light Atoms and Molecules on Graphene
Observing the individual building blocks of matter is one of the primary
goals of microscopy. The invention of the scanning tunneling microscope [1]
revolutionized experimental surface science in that atomic-scale features on a
solid-state surface could finally be readily imaged. However, scanning
tunneling microscopy has limited applicability due to restrictions, for
example, in sample conductivity, cleanliness, and data aquisition rate. An
older microscopy technique, that of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) [2,
3] has benefited tremendously in recent years from subtle instrumentation
advances, and individual heavy (high atomic number) atoms can now be detected
by TEM [4 - 7] even when embedded within a semiconductor material [8, 9].
However, detecting an individual low atomic number atom, for example carbon or
even hydrogen, is still extremely challenging, if not impossible, via
conventional TEM due to the very low contrast of light elements [2, 3, 10 -
12]. Here we demonstrate a means to observe, by conventional transmision
electron microscopy, even the smallest atoms and molecules: On a clean
single-layer graphene membrane, adsorbates such as atomic hydrogen and carbon
can be seen as if they were suspended in free space. We directly image such
individual adatoms, along with carbon chains and vacancies, and investigate
their dynamics in real time. These techniques open a way to reveal dynamics of
more complex chemical reactions or identify the atomic-scale structure of
unknown adsorbates. In addition, the study of atomic scale defects in graphene
may provide insights for nanoelectronic applications of this interesting
material.Comment: 9 pages manuscript and figures, 9 pages supplementary informatio
Silicon-based spin and charge quantum computation
Silicon-based quantum-computer architectures have attracted attention because
of their promise for scalability and their potential for synergetically
utilizing the available resources associated with the existing Si technology
infrastructure. Electronic and nuclear spins of shallow donors (e.g.
phosphorus) in Si are ideal candidates for qubits in such proposals due to the
relatively long spin coherence times. For these spin qubits, donor electron
charge manipulation by external gates is a key ingredient for control and
read-out of single-qubit operations, while shallow donor exchange gates are
frequently invoked to perform two-qubit operations. More recently, charge
qubits based on tunnel coupling in P substitutional molecular ions in Si
have also been proposed. We discuss the feasibility of the building blocks
involved in shallow donor quantum computation in silicon, taking into account
the peculiarities of silicon electronic structure, in particular the six
degenerate states at the conduction band edge. We show that quantum
interference among these states does not significantly affect operations
involving a single donor, but leads to fast oscillations in electron exchange
coupling and on tunnel-coupling strength when the donor pair relative position
is changed on a lattice-parameter scale. These studies illustrate the
considerable potential as well as the tremendous challenges posed by donor spin
and charge as candidates for qubits in silicon.Comment: Review paper (invited) - to appear in Annals of the Brazilian Academy
of Science
Si1-x Ge x /Si Interface Profiles Measured to Sub-Nanometer Precision Using uleSIMS Energy Sequencing
Genomic Transition to Pathogenicity in Chytrid Fungi
Understanding the molecular mechanisms of pathogen emergence is central to mitigating the impacts of novel infectious disease agents. The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is an emerging pathogen of amphibians that has been implicated in amphibian declines worldwide. Bd is the only member of its clade known to attack vertebrates. However, little is known about the molecular determinants of - or evolutionary transition to - pathogenicity in Bd. Here we sequence the genome of Bd's closest known relative - a non-pathogenic chytrid Homolaphlyctis polyrhiza (Hp). We first describe the genome of Hp, which is comparable to other chytrid genomes in size and number of predicted proteins. We then compare the genomes of Hp, Bd, and 19 additional fungal genomes to identify unique or recent evolutionary elements in the Bd genome. We identified 1,974 Bd-specific genes, a gene set that is enriched for protease, lipase, and microbial effector Gene Ontology terms. We describe significant lineage-specific expansions in three Bd protease families (metallo-, serine-type, and aspartyl proteases). We show that these protease gene family expansions occurred after the divergence of Bd and Hp from their common ancestor and thus are localized to the Bd branch. Finally, we demonstrate that the timing of the protease gene family expansions predates the emergence of Bd as a globally important amphibian pathogen
The Electron Microscopy Database: Example Data Sets for Teaching and Learning Quantitative TEM
Dopant mapping for the nanotechnology age.
Purpose: Providing support to an aging parent may pose challenges to adult children but also provide an opportunity to "give back" to loved ones. The current study investigated changes in emotional and instrumental support and quality across a period of 4 years. Additionally, associations between intergenerational support and well-being in adult children over time were investigated. Design and Methods: Data from the first and second waves of the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (N = 6,062) were analyzed to investigate the relative importance of relationship quality and support exchange and to test the potential buffering role of relationship quality for effects of the changing balance of support on well-being. Results: It was found that provision of instrumental and emotional support to parents increased during a period of 4 years. At the same time, instrumental support children received from parents decreased, whereas emotional support from parents increased. Intergenerational support exchange between children and parents was not associated with well-being in children, whereas the quality of the intergenerational relationship strongly predicted their well-being. Implications: Decreasing relationship quality seems a greater threat to the well-being of caregiving children than increased support and care tasks. Family counseling and public awareness to address this decline in intergenerational relationship quality may be important for well-being of families. © The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved