Search results for " insulator"
showing 10 items of 148 documents
The Sea Urchin sns5 Chromatin Insulator Improves the Likelihood of Lentiviral Vectors in Erythroid Milieu By Organizing an Independent Chromatin Doma…
2015
Abstract Retroviral vectors are currently the most suitable vehicles for therapeutic gene transfer in hematopoietic stem cells. However, these vectors are known to integrate rather randomly throughout the genome, suffering the so called chromosomal position effects (PE). Such a critical occurrence most probably depends upon the ability of heterochromatin to spread in the inserted vector sequences. Moreover, the use of transgenes imply genotoxicity effects, since the cis-regulatory sequences harbored by the vector can disturb the proper transcription of the resident genes neighboring the integration site, potentially leading to malignant transformation. Due to their enhancer blocker activity…
Topological Insulators from a Chemist's Perspective
2012
Topology and chemistry are deeply entangled subjects, whichmanifests in the way chemists like to think and approachproblems. Although not at first glance, topology allows thecategorizationoffundamentalinherentpropertiesofthehugenumber of different chemical compounds, carving out theunique features of a class of materials of different complexity,a topic which Turro worked out in his treatise on geometricaland topological thinking in chemistry.
Induced unconventional superconductivity on the surface states of Bi2Te3 topological insulator
2017
Topological superconductivity is central to a variety of novel phenomena involving the interplay between topologically ordered phases and broken-symmetry states. The key ingredient is an unconventional order parameter, with an orbital component containing a chiral $p_x$ + i$p_y$ wave term. Here we present phase-sensitive measurements, based on the quantum interference in nanoscale Josephson junctions, realized by using Bi$_2$Te$_3$ topological insulator. We demonstrate that the induced superconductivity is unconventional and consistent with a sign-changing order parameter, such as a chiral $p_x$ + i$p_y$ component. The magnetic field pattern of the junctions shows a dip at zero externally a…
Experimental evidence of high spatial confinement of elastic energy in a phononic cantilever
2021
We report on experimental high spatial confinement of elastic energy in a silicon phononic cantilever for which the quality factor of a higher-order flexural resonance is increased by a factor of 27 (from Q ∼ 80 to Q ∼ 2130) with the use of a three-row phononic crystal (PnC) strip. As shown by numerical simulations performed with the finite element method, the PnC both reduces anchor loss and confines elastic energy inside the cantilever. The PnC and the cantilever are fabricated with standard clean room techniques on a silicon on insulator substrate. Optical measurements of the out-of-plane displacements are performed with a laser scanning interferometer in a frequency range around 2 MHz.
High-Mobility Ambipolar Magnetotransport in Topological Insulator Bi2Se3 Nanoribbons
2021
Nanoribbons of topological insulators (TIs) have been suggested for a variety of applications exploiting the properties of the topologically protected surface Dirac states. In these proposals it is crucial to achieve a high tunability of the Fermi energy, through the Dirac point while preserving a high mobility of the involved carriers. Tunable transport in TI nanoribbons has been achieved by chemical doping of the materials so to reduce the bulk carriers' concentration, however at the expense of the mobility of the surface Dirac electrons, which is substantially reduced. Here we study bare ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Se}}_{3}$ nanoribbons transferred on a variety of oxide substrates and dem…
Heusler Compounds at a Glance
2013
The class of Heusler compounds, including the XYZ and the X 2 YZ compounds, does not only have an endless number of members, but also a vast variety of properties can be found in this class of materials, ranging from semi-conductors, half-metallic ferromagnets, superconductors, and topological insulators to shape memory alloys. With this chapter, we would like to provide an overview of Heusler compounds, focusing on basis design principles, their properties and potential applications.
Magnetic Heusler Compounds
2013
Abstract Heusler compounds are a remarkable class of intermetallic materials with 1:1:1 (often called Half-Heusler) or 2:1:1 composition comprising more than 1500 members. New properties and potential fields of applications emerge constantly; the prediction of topological insulators is the most recent example. Surprisingly, the properties of many Heusler compounds can easily be predicted by the valence electron count or within a rigid band approach. The wide range of the multifunctional properties of Heusler compounds is reflected in extraordinary magnetooptical, magnetoelectronic, and magnetocaloric properties. Co 2 -Heusler compounds are predicted and proven half-metallic ferromagnets sho…
Surface band-gap narrowing in quantized electron accumulation layers.
2010
An energy gap between the valence and the conduction band is the defining property of a semiconductor, and the gap size plays a crucial role in the design of semiconductor devices. We show that the presence of a two-dimensional electron gas near to the surface of a semiconductor can significantly alter the size of its band gap through many-body effects caused by its high electron density, resulting in a surface band gap that is much smaller than that in the bulk. Apart from reconciling a number of disparate previous experimental findings, the results suggest an entirely new route to spatially inhomogeneous band-gap engineering.
Subwavelength imaging of field confinement in a waveguide-integrated photonic crystal cavity
2005
A photonic crystal microcavity is designed to obtain an original field distribution inside the cavity and the structure is etched inside a silicon-on-insulator waveguide. Spectral location of the photonic band gap and cavity resonance are identified by using transmittance measurements and by analyzing the light collected by a scanning near-field optical microscope probe exactly positioned on the center of the cavity. The results obtained with the two techniques are in very good agreement. Then the near-field distribution above the device is mapped and light confinement inside the cavity is evidenced. Moreover, this confined light presents some remarkable patterns which clearly correspond to…
Probing magnetism in 2D van der Waals crystalline insulators via electron tunneling
2018
Magnetic insulators are a key resource for next-generation spintronic and topological devices. The family of layered metal halides promises varied magnetic states, including ultrathin insulating multiferroics, spin liquids, and ferromagnets, but device-oriented characterization methods are needed to unlock their potential. Here, we report tunneling through the layered magnetic insulator CrI₃ as a function of temperature and applied magnetic field.We electrically detect the magnetic ground state and interlayer coupling and observe a fieldinducedmetamagnetic transition.The metamagnetic transition results in magnetoresistances of 95, 300, and 550% for bilayer, trilayer, and tetralayer CrI₃ bar…