Very High Modulation Efficiency of Ultralow Threshold Current Single Quantum Well InGaAs Lasers

A record high current modulation efficiency of 5 GHz/[sqrt](mA) has been demonstrated in an ultralow threshold strained layer single quantum well InGaAs laser

High mobility two-dimensional electron system on hydrogen-passivated silicon(111) surfaces

We have fabricated and characterized a field-effect transistor in which an electric field is applied through an encapsulated vacuum cavity and induces a two-dimensional electron system on a hydrogen-passivated Si(111) surface. This vacuum cavity preserves the ambient sensitive surface and is created via room temperature contact bonding of two Si substrates. Hall measurements are made on the H-Si(111) surface prepared in aqueous ammonium fluoride solution. We obtain electron densities up to $6.5 \times 10^{11}$ cm$^{-2}$ and peak mobilities of $\sim 8000$ cm$^{2}$/V s at 4.2 K.Comment: to appear in Applied Physics Letter

Integer quantum Hall effect on a six valley hydrogen-passivated silicon (111) surface

We report magneto-transport studies of a two-dimensional electron system formed in an inversion layer at the interface between a hydrogen-passivated Si(111) surface and vacuum. Measurements in the integer quantum Hall regime demonstrate the expected sixfold valley degeneracy for these surfaces is broken, resulting in an unequal occupation of the six valleys and anisotropy in the resistance. We hypothesize the misorientation of Si surface breaks the valley states into three unequally spaced pairs, but the observation of odd filling factors, is difficult to reconcile with non-interacting electron theory.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Physical Review Letter

Lion metaphors in Chinese and English

This study intends to explore the cultural similarities and differences between the lion metaphors in Mandarin Chinese and British English. Most previous studies on animal metaphors focussed on the expressions with human beings as the target domain by collecting data either from questionnaires or dictionaries based on the Conceptual Metaphor Theory. This study, however, focusses on the expressions with non-humans as the target domains and is based on data collected from authoritative corpora. Three hundred and ninety-seven metaphorical expressions in Mandarin Chinese were identified from the Modern Chinese Corpus compiled by the Centre for Chinese Linguistics of Peking University (CCL Corpus) and 241 metaphorical expressions in British English were identified from the British National Corpus (BNC). After analysing the expressions from the perspective of the source domain and the target domain, the results show that first, the metaphorical expressions in Mandarin Chinese are mainly projected from the lion’s appearance to non-humans, but those in British English are mainly projected from the lion’s characteristics to non-humans. Second, the expressions are mainly mapped onto seven target domains in each language; four are the same. In addition, the dominant evaluation of the seven target domains in each language is mostly neutral. Third, ten conceptual metaphors were generalised from Mandarin Chinese and one from British English. All of these indicate the occurrence of cultural similarities as well as differences in the lion metaphors in the two languages

Parametric study of cavity length and mirror reflectivity in ultralow threshold quantum well InGaAs/AlGaAs lasers

Record low CW threshold currents of 16 μA at-room temperature and 21 μA at cryogenic temperature have been demonstrated in buried heterostructure strained layer, single quantum well InGaAs/AlGaAs lasers with a short cavity length and high reflectivity coatings

Electric vehicle drive-by-wire solution for distributed steering, braking and throttle control

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references.In this paper, we propose CityCarControl, a system to manage the steering, braking, and throttle of a new class of intra-city electric vehicles. These vehicles have a focus on extreme light-weight and a small parking footprint. In order to maximize maneuverability within a city environment, we show the feasibility of omnidirectional steering, and the integration of a folding chassis. Furthermore, we apply traditionally programming best-practice techniques to simplify the design of the control system. Specifically, we present the concept of a modular, fail-silent wheel-robot with a standardized API responsible for controlling steering, braking and throttle within the vehicle.by Thomas B. Brown.M.Eng

Demonstration of astrocytes in cultured amniotic fluid cells of three cases with neural-tube defect

We have investigated the origin of rapidly adhering (RA) cells in three cases of neural tube defects (two anencephali, one encephalocele). We were able to demonstrate the presence of glial fibrillary acidic (GFA) protein in variable percentages (4–80%) of RA cells cultured for 4–6 days by use of indirect immunofluorescence with GFA antiserum. Cells cultured from amniotic fluids of normal pregnancies and fetal fibroblasts were completely GFA protein negative. GFA protein is well established as a highly specific marker for astrocytes. Demonstration of astrocytes may prove to be a criterion of high diagnostic value for neural tube defects. The percentage of astrocytes decreased with increasing culture time, while the percentage of fibronectin positive cells increased both in amniotic fluid cell cultures from neural tube defects and normal pregnancies

Sequestration of G3BP coupled with efficient translation inhibits stress granules in Semliki Forest virus infection

Dynamic, mRNA-containing stress granules (SGs) form in the cytoplasm of cells under environmental stresses, including viral infection. Many viruses appear to employ mechanisms to disrupt the formation of SGs on their mRNAs, suggesting that they represent a cellular defense against infection. Here, we report that early in Semliki Forest virus infection, the C-terminal domain of the viral nonstructural protein 3 (nsP3) forms a complex with Ras-GAP SH3-domain–binding protein (G3BP) and sequesters it into viral RNA replication complexes in a manner that inhibits the formation of SGs on viral mRNAs. A viral mutant carrying a C-terminal truncation of nsP3 induces more persistent SGs and is attenuated for propagation in cell culture. Of importance, we also show that the efficient translation of viral mRNAs containing a translation enhancer sequence also contributes to the disassembly of SGs in infected cells. Furthermore, we show that the nsP3/G3BP interaction also blocks SGs induced by other stresses than virus infection. This is one of few described viral mechanisms for SG disruption and underlines the role of SGs in antiviral defense

Submilliamp threshold InGaAs-GaAs strained layer quantum-well laser

Strained-layer InGaAs-GaAs single-quantum-well buried-heterostructure lasers were fabricated by a hybrid beam epitaxy and liquid-phase epitaxy technique. Very low threshold currents, 2.4 mA for an uncoated laser (L=425 μm) and 0.75 mA for a coated laser (R~0.9, L=198 μm), were obtained. A 3-dB modulation bandwidth of 7.6 GHz was demonstrated at low bias current (14 mA). Procedures for material preparation and device fabrication are introduced