Improved performance of pentacene OTFTs with HfLaO gate dielectric by using fluorination and nitridation

Pentacene organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) with fluorinated high-κ HfLaO as gate insulator were fabricated. The dielectrics were prepared by sputtering method and then annealed in N 2 or NH 3 at 400 °C. Subsequently, the dielectrics were treated by fluorine plasma for different durations (100, 300, and 900 s). The N 2 and NH 3-annealed OTFTs with a 100-s plasma treatment achieve a carrier mobility of 0.62 and 0.66 cm 2V̇s, respectively, which are higher than those of the OTFTs without plasma treatment (0.22 and 0.41 cm 2V̇s). Moreover, the plasma-treated OTFTs realize better 1/f noise characteristics than those without plasma treatment. The improved performance is due to passivation of the dielectric surface by plasma-induced fluorine incorporation. However, for longer time (300 and 900 s) of plasma treatment, the performance of the OTFTs deteriorates in terms of carrier mobility and 1/f noise characteristics due to increased plasma-induced damage of the dielectric surface. The morphology of the pentacene film grown on the HfLaO gate insulator was characterized by SEM. It reveals that the pentacene film has larger grain size and smoother surface on the HfLaO dielectric (for both annealing gases) with 100-s plasma treatment than the others (0, 300, and 900 s). Finally, AFM characterization of the HfLaO film also confirms the damaging effect of excessive plasma treatment on the dielectric. © 2012 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Low-voltage polymer thin-film transistors with high-k HfTiO gate dielectric annealed in NH3 or N2

OTFTs with P3HT as organic semiconductor and HfTiO as gate dielectric have been studied in this work. The HfTiO dielectric film was prepared by RF sputtering of Hf and DC sputtering of Ti at room temperature. Subsequently, the dielectric film was annealed in an NH3 or N2 ambient at 200 °C. Then a layer of OTS was deposited by spin-coating method to improve the surface characteristics of the gate dielectric. Afterwards, P3HT was deposited by spin-coating method. The OTFTs were characterized by I-V measurement and 1/f noise measurement. The OTFT with gate dielectric annealed in NH3 displays higher carrier mobility, smaller threshold voltage, smaller sub-threshold swing, and lower 1/f noise level than the OTFT annealed in N2. Moreover, the HfTiO dielectric film annealed in NH3 shows higher dielectric constant. In summary, HfTiO film annealed in NH 3 at low temperature is a promising candidate to act as the gate dielectric of high-quality low-voltage OTFTs. ©2009 IEEE.published_or_final_versionThe IEEE International Conference of Electron Devices and Solid-State Circuits (EDSSC 2009), Xi'an, China, 25-27 December 2009. In Proceedings of EDSSC, 2009, p. 201-20

Surface Oxide Formation during Rapid Heating of Zn-coated Press Hardening Steel

During the conventional die-quenching processing of a galvanized PHS steel, a thick ZnO layer is formed at the surface. When the heating rate is increased, the oxide at the surface is a thin Al2O3 layer. This remarkable change in surface oxide during rapid heating is due to the partial melting of the coating instead of the solidification of the coating and the formation of Fe-Zn intermetallics. In the present study, the characterization of the surface oxide formation at different heating rates is presented.X1184Ysciescopu

Effects of annealing temperature and gas on pentacene OTFTs with HfLaO as gate dielectric

Pentacene organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) with high-κ HfLaO as gate insulator were fabricated. HfLaO film was prepared by sputtering method. To improve the film quality, the dielectric was annealed in N 2, NH 3, or O 2 at two temperatures, i.e., 200 °C and 400 °C, respectively. The I-V characteristics of the OTFTs and C-V characteristics of corresponding organic capacitors were measured. The OTFTs could operate at a low operating voltage of below 5 V, and the dielectric constant of the HfLaO film could be above ten. For all the annealing gases, the OTFTs annealed at 400 °C achieved higher carrier mobility than their counterparts annealed at 200 °C (with the one annealed in NH 3 at 400 °C showing the highest carrier mobility of 0.45 cm 2/ V·s), which could be supported by SEM images which indicate that pentacene tended to form larger grains on HfLaO annealed at 400 °C than on that annealed at 200 °C. The C-V measurement of the organic capacitors indicated that the localized charge density in the organic semiconductor/oxide was lower for the 400 °C annealing than for the 200 °C annealing. Furthermore, through the characterization of gate current leakage, HfLaO film annealed at 400 °C achieved much smaller leakage than that annealed at 200 °C. Since the maximum processing temperature of ITO glass substrates is around 400 °C , this study shows that 400 °C is suitable for the annealing of HfLaO film in high-performance OTFTs on glass substrate. © 2011 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Effects of different annealing gases on pentacene OTFT with HfLaO gate dielectric

Pentacene organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) with HfLaO high-kappa gate dielectric were fabricated. The dielectric was prepared by a sputtering method and then annealed in N2,NH3,O2, or NO at 400°C. The carrier mobility of the NH3-annealed OTFT could reach 0.59 cm2/V̇s, which is higher than those of the other three devices. Moreover, the NH3-annealed OTFT obtained the smallest subthreshold swing of 0.26 V/dec among them. Furthermore,1/f noise measurement indicated that the NH3-annealed OTFT achieved the smallest 1/f noise. All these should be attributed to the improved interface between the gate dielectric and the organic semiconductor associated with the passivation effects of the NH3 annealing on the dielectric surface. © 2010 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Bioluminescence-Activated Deep-Tissue Photodynamic Therapy of Cancer

Optical energy can trigger a variety of photochemical processes useful for therapies. Owing to the shallow penetration of light in tissues, however, the clinical applications of light-activated therapies have been limited. Bioluminescence resonant energy transfer (BRET) may provide a new way of inducing photochemical activation. Here, we show that efficient bioluminescence energy-induced photodynamic therapy (PDT) of macroscopic tumors and metastases in deep tissue. For monolayer cell culture in vitro incubated with Chlorin e6, BRET energy of about 1 nJ per cell generated as strong cytotoxicity as red laser light irradiation at 2.2 mW/cm(2) for 180 s. Regional delivery of bioluminescence agents via draining lymphatic vessels killed tumor cells spread to the sentinel and secondary lymph nodes, reduced distant metastases in the lung and improved animal survival. Our results show the promising potential of novel bioluminescence-activated PDT.111813Ysciescopu

Small molecule anionophores promote transmembrane anion permeation matching CFTR activity

Anion selective ionophores, anionophores, are small molecules capable of facilitating the transmembrane transport of anions. Inspired in the structure of natural product prodigiosin, four novel anionophores 1a-d, including a 1,2,3-triazole group, were prepared. These compounds proved highly efficient anion exchangers in model phospholipid liposomes. The changes in the hydrogen bond cleft modified the anion transport selectivity exhibited by these compounds compared to prodigiosin and suppressed the characteristic high toxicity of the natural product. Their activity as anionophores in living cells was studied and chloride efflux and iodine influx from living cells mediated by these derivatives was demonstrated. These compounds were shown to permeabilize cellular membranes to halides with efficiencies close to the natural anion channel CFTR at doses that do not compromise cellular viability. Remarkably, optimal transport efficiency was measured in the presence of pH gradients mimicking those found in the airway epithelia of Cystic Fibrosis patients. These results support the viability of developing small molecule anionophores as anion channel protein surrogates with potential applications in the treatment of conditions such as Cystic Fibrosis derived from the malfunction of natural anion transport mechanisms.European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 667079, La Marató de TV3 Foundation (20132730), Consejería de Educación de la Junta de Castilla y León (Projects BU340U13 and BU092U16

Aberrant Otx2 Expression Enhances Migration and Induces Ectopic Proliferation of Hindbrain Neuronal Progenitor Cells

Dysregulation of Otx2 is a hallmark of the pediatric brain tumor medulloblastoma, yet its functional significance in the establishment of these tumors is unknown. Here we have sought to determine the functional consequences of Otx2 overexpression in the mouse hindbrain to characterize its potential role in medulloblastoma tumorigenesis and identify the cell types responsive to this lineage-specific oncogene. Expression of Otx2 broadly in the mouse hindbrain resulted in the accumulation of proliferative clusters of cells in the cerebellar white matter and dorsal brainstem of postnatal mice. We found that brainstem ectopia were derived from neuronal progenitors of the rhombic lip and that cerebellar ectopia were derived from granule neuron precursors (GNPs) that had migrated inwards from the external granule layer (EGL). These hyperplasias exhibited various characteristics of medulloblastoma precursor cells identified in animal models of Shh or Wnt group tumors, including aberrant localization and altered spatiotemporal control of proliferation. However, ectopia induced by Otx2 differentiated and dispersed as the animals reached adulthood, indicating that factors restricting proliferative lifespan were a limiting factor to full transformation of these cells. These studies implicate a role for Otx2 in altering the dynamics of neuronal progenitor cell proliferation

Serum levels of selenium and smoking habits at age 50 influence long term prostate cancer risk; a 34 year ULSAM follow-up

Background: Serum selenium level (s-Se) has been associated with prostate cancer (PrCa) risk. We investigated the relation between s-Se, smoking and non-screening detected PrCa and explored if polymorphisms in two DNA repair genes: OGG1 and MnSOD, influenced any effect of s-Se. Methods: ULSAM, a population based Swedish male cohort (n = 2322) investigated at age 50 for s-Se and s-Se influencing factors: serum cholesterol, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and smoking habits. At age 71 a subcohort, (n = 1005) was genotyped for OGG1 and MnSOD polymorphisms. Results: In a 34-year-follow-up, national registries identified 208 PrCa cases further confirmed in medical records. Participants with s-Se in the upper tertile had a non-significantly lower risk of PrCa. Smokers with s-Se in the two lower tertiles (<= 80 mu g/L) experienced a higher cumulative incidence of PrCa than smokers in the high selenium tertile (Hazard Ratio 2.39; 95% CI: 1.09-5.25). A high tertile selenium level in combination with non-wt rs125701 of the OGG1 gene in combination with smoking status or rs4880 related variation of MnSOD gene appeared to protect from PrCa. Conclusions: S-Se levels and smoking habits influence long-term risk of PrCa. Smoking as a risk factor for PrCa in men with low s-Se is relevant to explore further. Exploratory analyses of variations in OGG1 and MnSOD genes indicate that hypotheses about patterns of exposure to selenium and smoking combined with data on genetic variation in genes involved in DNA repair can be valuable to pursue