Selective Area Growth of GaAs Nanowires and Microplatelet Arrays on Silicon by Hydride Vapor-Phase Epitaxy

In this work, we demonstrate the growth of vertically oriented GaAs nanowires (NWs) and microplatelets directly on a patterned SiO2/Si(111) substrate by hydride vapor-phase epitaxy (HVPE). Direct condensation of GaAs on Si was achieved through a critical surface preparation under an As-controlled atmosphere. GaAs NWs were grown along the ⟨111⟩B direction with a hexagonal cross section when the hole opening diameter (D) in the SiO2 mask was below 350 nm. Larger apertures (D ≥ 500 nm) resulted in uniform microplatelets. This study highlights the capability of HVPE for selective area growth of GaAs directly on Si and thus the potential of HVPE as a generic heterointegration process for III-V semiconductors on silicon.</p

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition)

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. For example, a key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process versus those that measure fl ux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process including the amount and rate of cargo sequestered and degraded). In particular, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation must be differentiated from stimuli that increase autophagic activity, defi ned as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (inmost higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium ) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the fi eld understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. It is worth emphasizing here that lysosomal digestion is a stage of autophagy and evaluating its competence is a crucial part of the evaluation of autophagic flux, or complete autophagy. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. Along these lines, because of the potential for pleiotropic effects due to blocking autophagy through genetic manipulation it is imperative to delete or knock down more than one autophagy-related gene. In addition, some individual Atg proteins, or groups of proteins, are involved in other cellular pathways so not all Atg proteins can be used as a specific marker for an autophagic process. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field

Impedance spectroscopy characterization of GaAs nanowire bundles grown by metal-catalyzed molecular beam epitaxy

Vertically aligned GaAs nanowire (NW) bundles grown by gas-source molecular beam epitaxy on an n-doped GaAs substrate by a metal catalysis method and embedded in an insulating matrix (SU8-2) were studied by impedance spectroscopy. The DC current-voltage characteristics measured between Au dot contacts to the NW tips and the substrate exhibited Schottky behavior. A detailed analysis of the impedance data measured in reverse bias conditions is presented, which enables the elimination of the stray capacitance due to the insulating matrix, and the separation of the different contributions to the total admittance from the metal/NW Schottky interface and from the NW region beyond the barrier region. The observed NW conductances and capacitances are shown to be consistent with rough estimates based on the GaAs conductivity and permittivity data and the NW dimensions, and the NW conductance increases as a power law of the frequency. Possible charge transport mechanisms to explain this result are discussed.Fil: Tirado, Monica Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física. Laboratorio de Propiedades Dieléctricas; ArgentinaFil: Comedi, David Mario. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Tecnología. Departamento de Física. Laboratorio de Física del Sólido; ArgentinaFil: LaPierre, Ray R.. Mc Master University; Canad

Phosphorus-Controlled Nanoepitaxy in the Asymmetric Growth of GaAs-InP Core-Shell Bent Nanowires

Breakthroughs extending nanostructure engineering beyond what is possible with current fabrication techniques will be crucial for enabling next-generation nanotechnologies. Nanoepitaxy of strain-engineered bent nanowire heterostructures presents a promising platform for realizing bottom-up and scalable fabrication of nanowire devices. The synthesis of these structures requires the selective asymmetric deposition of lattice-mismatched shells-a complex growth process which is not well understood. We present the nanoepitaxial growth of GaAs-InP core-shell bent nanowires and connecting nanowire pairs to form nano-arches. Compositional analysis of nanowire cross-sections reveals the critical role of adatom diffusion in the nanoepitaxial growth process, which leads to two distinct growth regimes: indium-diffusion limited growth and phosphorous-limited growth. The highly controllable phosphorous-limited growth mode is employed to synthesize connected nanowire pairs and quantify the role of flux shadowing on the shell growth process. These results provide important insight into three-dimensional nanoepitaxy and enable new possibilities for nanowire device fabrication