Raman-scattering study of the InGaN alloy over the whole composition range

We present Raman-scattering measurements on InxGa1−xN over the entire composition range of the alloy. The frequencies of the A1(LO) and E2 modes are reported and show a good agreement with the one-mode behavior dispersion predicted by the modified random-element isodisplacement model. The A1(LO) mode displays a high intensity relative to the E2 mode due to resonant enhancement. For above band-gap excitation, the A1(LO) peak displays frequency shifts as a function of the excitation energy due to selective excitation of regions with different In contents, and strong multiphonon scattering up to 3LO is observed in outgoing resonance conditions

Structural and optical properties of MOCVD AllnN epilayers

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Direct observation of LO phonon-plasmon coupled modes in the infrared transmission spectra of n-GaAs and n-InxGa1-xAs epilayers

The infrared transmission spectrum of Si-doped molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)-grown GaAs epilayers, 2-2.5-mum thick, measured in the oblique (Berreman) geometry, revealed distinct minima in p polarization. Given epilayer thickness \u3c reststrahlen wavelength, the minima are identified as the zone-center transverse optic phonon (omega(TO)) and the high-frequency LO phonon-plasmon coupled mode (omega(+)). Analysis of the experimental data yielded free-carrier concentrations ranging from 2.5x10(17) to 1.4x10(18) cm(-3). The same technique with MBE-grown Si-doped In0.53Ga0.47As epilayers (0.5-1 mum thick) yielded omega(+) modes corresponding to free-carrier concentrations of 8.2x10(16)-2.7x10(19) cm(-3). The observations of the transmission minima in the Berreman geometry and their interpretation demonstrate a direct and simple method for deducing free-carrier concentrations over a wide range

High-pressure Raman scattering in wurtzite indium nitride

Copyright (2011) American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics.We perform Raman-scattering measurements at high hydrostatic pressures on c-face and a-face InN layers to investigate the high-pressure behavior of the zone-center optical phonons of wurtzite InN. Linear pressure coefficients and mode Grneisen parameters are obtained, and the experimental results are compared with theoretical values obtained from ab initio lattice-dynamical calculations. Good agreement is found between the experimental and calculated results. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.Work supported by the Spanish MICINN (Projects MAT2010-16116, MAT2008-06873-C02-02, MAT2010-21270-C04-04, and CSD2007-00045), the Catalan Government (BE-DG 2009), and the Spanish Council for Research (PIE2009-CSIC).Ibanez, J.; Manjón Herrera, FJ.; Segura, A.; Oliva, R.; Cusco, R.; Vilaplana Cerda, RI.; Yamaguchi, T.... (2011). High-pressure Raman scattering in wurtzite indium nitride. Applied Physics Letters. 99:119081-119083. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3609327S11908111908399Veal, T., McConville, C., & Schaff, W. (Eds.). (2009). Indium Nitride and Related Alloys. doi:10.1201/9781420078107Gallinat, C. S., Koblmüller, G., Brown, J. S., Bernardis, S., Speck, J. S., Chern, G. D., … Wraback, M. (2006). In-polar InN grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Applied Physics Letters, 89(3), 032109. doi:10.1063/1.2234274Li, S. X., Wu, J., Haller, E. E., Walukiewicz, W., Shan, W., Lu, H., & Schaff, W. J. (2003). Hydrostatic pressure dependence of the fundamental bandgap of InN and In-rich group III nitride alloys. Applied Physics Letters, 83(24), 4963-4965. doi:10.1063/1.1633681Gorczyca, I., Plesiewicz, J., Dmowski, L., Suski, T., Christensen, N. E., Svane, A., … Speck, J. S. (2008). Electronic structure and effective masses of InN under pressure. Journal of Applied Physics, 104(1), 013704. doi:10.1063/1.2953094Domènech-Amador, N., Cuscó, R., Artús, L., Yamaguchi, T., & Nanishi, Y. (2011). Raman scattering study of anharmonic phonon decay in InN. Physical Review B, 83(24). doi:10.1103/physrevb.83.245203Serrano, J., Bosak, A., Krisch, M., Manjón, F. J., Romero, A. H., Garro, N., … Kuball, M. (2011). InN Thin Film Lattice Dynamics by Grazing Incidence Inelastic X-Ray Scattering. Physical Review Letters, 106(20). doi:10.1103/physrevlett.106.205501Pinquier, C., Demangeot, F., Frandon, J., Pomeroy, J. W., Kuball, M., Hubel, H., … Gil, B. (2004). Raman scattering in hexagonal InN under high pressure. Physical Review B, 70(11). doi:10.1103/physrevb.70.113202Pinquier, C., Demangeot, F., Frandon, J., Chervin, J.-C., Polian, A., Couzinet, B., … Maleyre, B. (2006). Raman scattering study of wurtzite and rocksalt InN under high pressure. Physical Review B, 73(11). doi:10.1103/physrevb.73.115211Yao, L. D., Luo, S. D., Shen, X., You, S. J., Yang, L. X., Zhang, S. J., … Xie, S. S. (2010). Structural stability and Raman scattering of InN nanowires under high pressure. Journal of Materials Research, 25(12), 2330-2335. doi:10.1557/jmr.2010.0290Cuscó, R., Ibáñez, J., Alarcón-Lladó, E., Artús, L., Yamaguchi, T., & Nanishi, Y. (2009). Raman scattering study of the long-wavelength longitudinal-optical-phonon–plasmon coupled modes in high-mobility InN layers. Physical Review B, 79(15). doi:10.1103/physrevb.79.155210Wagner, J.-M., & Bechstedt, F. (2003). First-principles study of phonon-mode softening under pressure: the case of GaN and AlN. physica status solidi (b), 235(2), 464-469. doi:10.1002/pssb.200301603Weinstein, B. A. (1977). Phonon dispersion of zinc chalcogenides under extreme pressure and the metallic transformation. Solid State Communications, 24(9), 595-598. doi:10.1016/0038-1098(77)90369-6Yakovenko, E. V., Gauthier, M., & Polian, A. (2004). High-pressure behavior of the bond-bending mode of AIN. Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics, 98(5), 981-985. doi:10.1134/1.1767565Reparaz, J. S., Muniz, L. R., Wagner, M. R., Goñi, A. R., Alonso, M. I., Hoffmann, A., & Meyer, B. K. (2010). Reduction of the transverse effective charge of optical phonons in ZnO under pressure. Applied Physics Letters, 96(23), 231906. doi:10.1063/1.3447798Perlin, P., Jauberthie-Carillon, C., Itie, J. P., San Miguel, A., Grzegory, I., & Polian, A. (1992). Raman scattering and x-ray-absorption spectroscopy in gallium nitride under high pressure. Physical Review B, 45(1), 83-89. doi:10.1103/physrevb.45.83Manjón, F. J., Errandonea, D., Romero, A. H., Garro, N., Serrano, J., & Kuball, M. (2008). Lattice dynamics of wurtzite and rocksalt AlN under high pressure: Effect of compression on the crystal anisotropy of wurtzite-type semiconductors. Physical Review B, 77(20). doi:10.1103/physrevb.77.205204Jephcoat, A. P., Hemley, R. J., Mao, H. K., Cohen, R. E., & Mehl, M. J. (1988). Raman spectroscopy and theoretical modeling of BeO at high pressure. Physical Review B, 37(9), 4727-4734. doi:10.1103/physrevb.37.4727Ibáñez, J., Segura, A., Manjón, F. J., Artús, L., Yamaguchi, T., & Nanishi, Y. (2010). Electronic structure of wurtzite and rocksalt InN investigated by optical absorption under hydrostatic pressure. Applied Physics Letters, 96(20), 201903. doi:10.1063/1.3431291Goñi, A. R., Siegle, H., Syassen, K., Thomsen, C., & Wagner, J.-M. (2001). Effect of pressure on optical phonon modes and transverse effective charges inGaNandAlN. Physical Review B, 64(3). doi:10.1103/physrevb.64.03520

Performance of bulk SiC radiation detectors

SiC is a wide-gap material with excellent electrical and physical properties that may make it an important material for some future electronic devices. The most important possible applications of SiC are in hostile environments, such as in car/jet engines, within nuclear reactors, or in outer space. Another area where the material properties, most notably radiation hardness, would be valuable is in the inner tracking detectors of particle physics experiments. Here, we describe the performance of SiC diodes irradiated in the 24 GeV proton beam at CERN. Schottky measurements have been used to probe the irradiated material for changes in I–V characteristics. Other methods, borrowed from III–V research, used to study the irradiated surface include atomic force microscope scans and Raman spectroscopy. These have been used to observe the damage to the materials surface and internal lattice structure. We have also characterised the detection capabilities of bulk semi-insulating SiC for α radiation. By measuring the charge collection efficiency (CCE) for variations in bias voltage, CCE values up to 100% have been measured

Deep Molecular Characterization of Milder Spinal Muscular Atrophy Patients Carrying the c.859G>C Variant in SMN2

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a severe neuromuscular disorder caused by biallelic loss or pathogenic variants in the SMN1 gene. Copy number and modifier intragenic variants in SMN2, an almost identical paralog gene of SMN1, are known to influence the amount of complete SMN proteins. Therefore, SMN2 is considered the main phenotypic modifier of SMA, although genotype-phenotype correlation is not absolute. We present eleven unrelated SMA patients with milder phenotypes carrying the c.859G>C-positive modifier variant in SMN2. All were studied by a specific NGS method to allow a deep characterization of the entire SMN region. Analysis of two homozygous cases for the variant allowed us to identify a specific haplotype, Smn2-859C.1, in association with c.859G>C. Two other cases with the c.859G>C variant in their two SMN2 copies showed a second haplotype, Smn2-859C.2, in cis with Smn2-859C.1, assembling a more complex allele. We also identified a previously unreported variant in intron 2a exclusively linked to the Smn2-859C.1 haplotype (c.154-1141G>A), further suggesting that this region has been ancestrally conserved. The deep molecular characterization of SMN2 in our cohort highlights the importance of testing c.859G>C, as well as accurately assessing the SMN2 region in SMA patients to gain insight into the complex genotype-phenotype correlations and improve prognostic outcomes

Decay in survival motor neuron and plastin 3 levels during differentiation of iPSC-derived human motor neurons

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a neuromuscular disease caused by mutations in Survival Motor Neuron 1 (SMN1), leading to degeneration of alpha motor neurons (MNs) but also affecting other cell types. Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived human MN models from severe SMA patients have shown relevant phenotypes. We have produced and fully characterized iPSCs from members of a discordant consanguineous family with chronic SMA. We differentiated the iPSC clones into ISL-1+/ChAT+ MNs and performed a comparative study during the differentiation process, observing significant differences in neurite length and number between family members. Analyses of samples from wild-type, severe SMA type I and the type IIIa/IV family showed a progressive decay in SMN protein levels during iPSC-MN differentiation, recapitulating previous observations in developmental studies. PLS3 underwent parallel reductions at both the transcriptional and translational levels. The underlying, progressive developmental decay in SMN and PLS3 levels may lead to the increased vulnerability of MNs in SMA disease. Measurements of SMN and PLS3 transcript and protein levels in iPSC-derived MNs show limited value as SMA biomarkers

The Genetic Effect of Copy Number Variations on the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in a Korean Population

BACKGROUND: Unlike Caucasian populations, genetic factors contributing to the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are not well studied in Asian populations. In light of this, and the fact that copy number variation (CNV) is emerging as a new way to understand human genomic variation, the objective of this study was to identify type 2 diabetes-associated CNV in a Korean cohort. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using the Illumina HumanHap300 BeadChip (317,503 markers), genome-wide genotyping was performed to obtain signal and allelic intensities from 275 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and 496 nondiabetic subjects (Total n = 771). To increase the sensitivity of CNV identification, we incorporated multiple factors using PennCNV, a program that is based on the hidden Markov model (HMM). To assess the genetic effect of CNV on T2DM, a multivariate logistic regression model controlling for age and gender was used. We identified a total of 7,478 CNVs (average of 9.7 CNVs per individual) and 2,554 CNV regions (CNVRs; 164 common CNVRs for frequency>1%) in this study. Although we failed to demonstrate robust associations between CNVs and the risk of T2DM, our results revealed a putative association between several CNVRs including chr15:45994758-45999227 (P = 8.6E-04, P(corr) = 0.01) and the risk of T2DM. The identified CNVs in this study were validated using overlapping analysis with the Database of Genomic Variants (DGV; 71.7% overlap), and quantitative PCR (qPCR). The identified variations, which encompassed functional genes, were significantly enriched in the cellular part, in the membrane-bound organelle, in the development process, in cell communication, in signal transduction, and in biological regulation. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: We expect that the methods and findings in this study will contribute in particular to genome studies of Asian populations

BAC array CGH in patients with Velocardiofacial syndrome-like features reveals genomic aberrations on chromosome region 1q21.1

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Microdeletion of the chromosome 22q11.2 region is the most common genetic aberration among patients with velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS) but a subset of subjects do not show alterations of this chromosome region.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We analyzed 18 patients with VCFS-like features by comparative genomic hybridisation (aCGH) array and performed a face-to-face slide hybridization with two different arrays: a whole genome and a chromosome 22-specific BAC array. Putative rearrangements were confirmed by FISH and MLPA assays.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>One patient carried a combination of rearrangements on 1q21.1, consisting in a microduplication of 212 kb and a close microdeletion of 1.15 Mb, previously reported in patients with variable phenotypes, including mental retardation, congenital heart defects (CHD) and schizophrenia. While 326 control samples were negative for both 1q21.1 rearrangements, one of 73 patients carried the same 212-kb microduplication, reciprocal to TAR microdeletion syndrome. Also, we detected four copy number variants (CNVs) inherited from one parent (a 744-kb duplication on 10q11.22; a 160 kb duplication and deletion on 22q11.21 in two cases; and a gain of 140 kb on 22q13.2), not present in control subjects, raising the potential role of these CNVs in the VCFS-like phenotype.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results confirmed aCGH as a successful strategy in order to characterize additional submicroscopic aberrations in patients with VCF-like features that fail to show alterations in 22q11.2 region. We report a 212-kb microduplication on 1q21.1, detected in two patients, which may contribute to CHD.</p