Many-body interactions in transition-metal oxides give rise to a wide range of functional properties, such as high-temperature superconductivity, colossal magnetoresistance or multiferroicity . The ...seminal recent discovery of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) at the interface of the insulating oxides LaAlO(3) and SrTiO(3) (ref. 4) represents an important milestone towards exploiting such properties in all-oxide devices. This conducting interface shows a number of appealing properties, including a high electron mobility, superconductivity and large magnetoresistance, and can be patterned on the few-nanometre length scale. However, the microscopic origin of the interface 2DEG is poorly understood. Here, we show that a similar 2DEG, with an electron density as large as 8×10(13) cm(-2), can be formed at the bare SrTiO(3) surface. Furthermore, we find that the 2DEG density can be controlled through exposure of the surface to intense ultraviolet light. Subsequent angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements reveal an unusual coexistence of a light quasiparticle mass and signatures of strong many-body interactions.
Approval of Spinraza (nusinersen) for treatment of spinal muscular atrophy prompts consideration of a number of ethical issues that arise whenever a new treatment is proposed for a serious condition, ...especially one that is rare and can devastatingly affect children. Patients, families, clinicians, researchers, institutions and policymakers all must take account of the ways that newly available treatments affect informed and shared decision-making about therapeutic and research options. The issues to consider include: addressing what is still uncertain and unknown; the possibility that potential benefits will be exaggerated and potential harms underemphasized in the media, by advocacy organizations, and in consent forms and processes; the high cost of many novel drugs and biologics; the effects of including conditions of variable phenotype in state-mandated newborn screening panels; and how new treatments can change the standard of care, altering what is and is not known about a disorder and posing challenges for decision-making at both individual and policy levels. The good news that Spinraza brings thus requires additional attention to its ethical and policy implications, to improve counseling and shared decision-making about treatment and research options for patients and all involved in their care.
We report on the formation of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) at the bare surface of (111) oriented SrTiO3. Angle resolved photoemission experiments reveal highly itinerant carriers with a ...sixfold symmetric Fermi surface and strongly anisotropic effective masses. The electronic structure of the 2DEG is in good agreement with self-consistent tight-binding supercell calculations that incorporate a confinement potential due to surface band bending. We further demonstrate that alternate exposure of the surface to ultraviolet light and atomic oxygen allows tuning of the carrier density and the complete suppression of the 2DEG.
As sensors, wireless communication devices, personal health monitoring systems, and autonomous microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) become distributed and smaller, there is an increasing demand for ...miniaturized integrated power sources. Although thin-film batteries are well-suited for on-chip integration, their energy and power per unit area are limited. Three-dimensional electrode designs have potential to offer much greater power and energy per unit area; however, efforts to date to realize 3D microbatteries have led to prototypes with solid electrodes (and therefore low power) or mesostructured electrodes not compatible with manufacturing or on-chip integration. Here, we demonstrate an on-chip compatible method to fabricate high energy density (6.5 μWh cm ⁻²⋅μm ⁻¹) 3D mesostructured Li-ion microbatteries based on LiMnO ₂ cathodes, and NiSn anodes that possess supercapacitor-like power (3,600 μW cm ⁻²⋅μm ⁻¹ peak). The mesostructured electrodes are fabricated by combining 3D holographic lithography with conventional photolithography, enabling deterministic control of both the internal electrode mesostructure and the spatial distribution of the electrodes on the substrate. The resultant full cells exhibit impressive performances, for example a conventional light-emitting diode (LED) is driven with a 500-μA peak current (600-C discharge) from a 10-μm-thick microbattery with an area of 4 mm ² for 200 cycles with only 12% capacity fade. A combined experimental and modeling study where the structural parameters of the battery are modulated illustrates the unique design flexibility enabled by 3D holographic lithography and provides guidance for optimization for a given application.
Significance Microscale batteries can deliver energy at the actual point of energy usage, providing capabilities for miniaturizing electronic devices and enhancing their performance. Here, we demonstrate a high-performance microbattery suitable for large-scale on-chip integration with both microelectromechanical and complementary metal-oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) devices. Enabled by a 3D holographic patterning technique, the battery possesses well-defined, periodically mesostructured porous electrodes. Such battery architectures offer both high energy and high power, and the 3D holographic patterning technique offers exceptional control of the electrode’s structural parameters, enabling customized energy and power for specific applications.
The performance and scaling of graphene-based electronics is limited by the quality of contacts between the graphene and metal electrodes. However, the nature of graphene-metal contacts remains ...incompletely understood. Here, we use atomic force microscopy to measure the temperature distributions at the contacts of working graphene transistors with a spatial resolution of ~ 10 nm (refs 5-8), allowing us to identify the presence of Joule heating, current crowding and thermoelectric heating and cooling. Comparison with simulation enables extraction of the contact resistivity (150-200 Ω µm²) and transfer length (0.2-0.5 µm) in our devices; these generally limit performance and must be minimized. Our data indicate that thermoelectric effects account for up to one-third of the contact temperature changes, and that current crowding accounts for most of the remainder. Modelling predicts that the role of current crowding will diminish and the role of thermoelectric effects will increase as contacts improve.
Strong many-body interactions in solids yield a host of fascinating and potentially useful physical properties. Here, from angle-resolved photoemission experiments and ab initio many-body ...calculations, we demonstrate how a strong coupling of conduction electrons with collective plasmon excitations of their own Fermi sea leads to the formation of plasmonic polarons in the doped ferromagnetic semiconductor EuO. We observe how these exhibit a significant tunability with charge carrier doping, leading to a polaronic liquid that is qualitatively distinct from its more conventional lattice-dominated analogue. Our study thus suggests powerful opportunities for tailoring quantum many-body interactions in solids via dilute charge carrier doping.
The proton is one of the main building blocks of all visible matter in the Universe
. Among its intrinsic properties are its electric charge, mass and spin
. These properties emerge from the complex ...dynamics of its fundamental constituents-quarks and gluons-described by the theory of quantum chromodynamics
. The electric charge and spin of protons, which are shared among the quarks, have been investigated previously using electron scattering
. An example is the highly precise measurement of the electric charge radius of the proton
. By contrast, little is known about the inner mass density of the proton, which is dominated by the energy carried by gluons. Gluons are hard to access using electron scattering because they do not carry an electromagnetic charge. Here we investigated the gravitational density of gluons using a small colour dipole, through the threshold photoproduction of the J/ψ particle. We determined the gluonic gravitational form factors of the proton
from our measurement. We used a variety of models
and determined, in all cases, a mass radius that is notably smaller than the electric charge radius. In some, but not all cases, depending on the model, the determined radius agrees well with first-principle predictions from lattice quantum chromodynamics
. This work paves the way for a deeper understanding of the salient role of gluons in providing gravitational mass to visible matter.
Future genetic progress in wheat grain yield will depend on increasing biomass and this must be achieved without commensurate increases in nitrogen (N) fertilizer inputs to minimize environmental ...impacts. In recent decades there has been a loss of genetic diversity in wheat through plant breeding. However, new genetic diversity can be created by incorporating genes into bread wheat from wild wheat relatives. Our objectives were to investigate amphidiploids derived from hybrids of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and related species from the genera Aegilops, Secale, Thinopyrum and Triticum for expression of higher biomass, N-use efficiency (NUE) and leaf photosynthesis rate compared to their bread wheat parents under high and low N conditions. Eighteen amphidiploid lines and their bread wheat parents were examined in high N (HN) and low N (LN) treatments under glasshouse conditions in two years. Averaged across years, grain yield reduced by 38% under LN compared to HN conditions (P = 0.004). Three amphidiploid lines showed positive transgressive segregation compared to their bread wheat parent for biomass per plant under HN conditions. Positive transgressive segregation was also identified for flag-leaf photosynthesis both pre-anthesis and post-anthesis under HN and LN conditions. For N uptake per plant at maturity positive transgressive segregation was identified for one amphidiploid line under LN conditions. Our results indicated that introgressing traits from wild relatives into modern bread wheat germplasm offers scope to raise biomass and N-use effciency in both optimal and low N availability environments.
The reduced form of graphene oxide (GO) is an attractive alternative to graphene for producing large-scale flexible conductors and for creating devices that require an electronic gap. We report on a ...means to tune the topographical and electrical properties of reduced GO (rGO) with nanoscopic resolution by local thermal reduction of GO with a heated atomic force microscope tip. The rGO regions are up to four orders of magnitude more conductive than pristine GO. No sign of tip wear or sample tearing was observed. Variably conductive nanoribbons with dimensions down to 12 nanometers could be produced in oxidized epitaxial graphene films in a single step that is clean, rapid, and reliable.
This paper investigates the Atlantic Ocean influence on equatorial Pacific decadal variability. Using an ensemble of simulations, where the ICTPAGCM (“SPEEDY”) is coupled to the NEMO/OPA ocean model ...in the Indo-Pacific region and forced by observed sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic region, it is shown that the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) has had a substantial influence on the equatorial Pacific decadal variability. According to AMO phases we have identified three periods with strong Atlantic forcing of equatorial Pacific changes, namely (1) 1931–1950 minus 1910–1929, (2) 1970–1989 minus 1931–1950 and (3) 1994–2013 minus 1970–1989. Both observations and the model show easterly surface wind anomalies in the central Pacific, cooling in the central-eastern Pacific and warming in the western Pacific/Indian Ocean region in events (1) and (3) and the opposite signals in event (2). The physical mechanism for these responses is related to a modification of the Walker circulation because a positive (negative) AMO leads to an overall warmer (cooler) tropical Atlantic. The warmer (cooler) tropical Atlantic modifies the Walker circulation, leading to rising (sinking) and upper-level divergence (convergence) motion in the Atlantic region and sinking (rising) motion and upper-level convergence (divergence) in the central Pacific region.
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