Subbandgap photoluminescence of Si photonic crystal nanocavity at room temperature

Using a photonic crystal cavity and a hydrogen plasma treatment, we enhance the photoluminescence (PL) from optically active defects in silicon by a factor of 3000 compared to the as-bought material at room temperature. © 2011 IEEE.

Light generation in silicon photonic crystal cavities

Far-field optimized photonic crystal nanocavities are used to strongly increase light generation from crystalline silicon. Low-power continuous-wave harmonic generation as well as efficient room temperature light-emission from optically-active defects are demonstrated in these devices. © 2011 IEEE.

Nonlinear optics in Silicon photonic crystal cavities

Silicon is known to be a very good material for the realization of high-Q, low-volume photonic cavities, but at the same it is usually considered as a poor material for nonlinear optical functionalities like second-harmonic generation, because its second-order nonlinear susceptibility vanishes in the dipole approximation. In this work we demonstrate that nonlinear optical effects in silicon nanocavities can be strongly enhanced and even become macroscopically observable. We employ photonic crystal nanocavities in silicon membranes that are optimized simultaneously for high quality factor and efficient coupling to an incoming beam in the far field. Using a low-power, continuous-wave laser at telecommunication wavelengths as a pump beam, we demonstrate simultaneous generation of second- and third harmonics in the visible region, which can be observed with a simple camera. The results are in good agreement with a theoretical model that treats third-harmonic generation as a bulk effect in the cavity region, and second-harmonic generation as a surface effect arising from the vertical hole sidewalls. Optical bistability is also observed in the silicon nanocavities and its physical mechanisms (optical, due to two-photon generation of free carriers, as well as thermal) are investigated. © 2011 IEEE.

Room-temperature emission at telecom wavelengths from silicon photonic crystal nanocavities

Strongly enhanced light emission at wavelengths between 1.3 and 1.6 μm is reported at room temperature in silicon photonic crystal (PhC) nanocavities with optimized out-coupling efficiency. Sharp peaks corresponding to the resonant modes of PhC nanocavities dominate the broad sub-bandgap emission from optically active defects in the crystalline Si membrane. We measure a 300-fold enhancement of the emission from the PhC nanocavity due to a combination of far-field enhancement and the Purcell effect. The cavity enhanced emission has a very weak temperature dependence, namely less than a factor of 2 reduction between 10 K and room temperature, which makes this approach suitable for the realization of efficient light sources as well as providing a quick and easy tool for the broadband optical characterization of silicon-on-insulator nanostructures. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.

Electrical conduction and optical properties of doped silicon-on-insulator photonic crystals

We investigate the electrical properties of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) photonic crystals as a function of both doping level and air filling factor. The resistance trends can be clearly explained by the presence of a depletion region around the sidewalls of the holes that is caused by band pinning at the surface. To understand the trade-off between the carrier transport and the optical losses due to free electrons in the doped SOI, we also measured the resonant modes of L3 photonic crystal nanocavities and found that surprisingly high doping levels, up to 1018 / cm3, are acceptable for practical devices with Q factors as high as 4× 104. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.

New approaches for enhancing light emission from Er-based materials and devices

In this work, we present some approaches recently developed for enhancing light emission from Er-based materials and devices. We have investigated the luminescence quenching processes limiting quantum efficiency in light-emitting devices based on Si nanoclusters (Si nc) or Er-doped Si nc. It is found that carrier injection, while needed to excite Si nc or Er ions through electron-hole recombination, at the same time produces an efficient non-radiative Auger de-excitation with trapped carriers. A strong light confinement and enhancement of Er emission at 1.54 μm in planar silicon-on-insulator waveguides containing a thin layer (slot) of SiO2 with Er-doped Si nc at the center of the Si core has been obtained. By measuring the guided photoluminescence from the cleaved edge of the sample, we have observed a more than fivefold enhancement of emission for the transverse magnetic mode over the transverse electric one at room temperature. Slot waveguides have also been integrated with a photonic crystal (PhC), consisting of a triangular lattice of holes. An enhancement by more than two orders of magnitude of the Er near-normal emission is observed when the transition is in resonance with an appropriate mode of the PhC slab. Finally, in order to increase the concentration of excitable Er ions, a completely different approach, based on Er disilicate thin films, has been explored. Under proper annealing conditions crystalline and chemically stable Er2Si2O7 films are obtained; these films exhibit a strong luminescence at 1.54 μm owing to the efficient reduction of the defect density. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Enhanced light emission in active silicon-on-insulator photonic crystal slabs and slot waveguides

We present experimental measurements on Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) photonic crystal slabs with an active layer containing Er3+ ions-doped Silicon nanoclusters (Si-nc), showing strong enhancement of 1.54 μm emission at room temperature. We provide a systematic theoretical analysis to interpret such results. In order to get further insight, we discuss experimental data on the guided luminescence of unpatterned SOI planar slot waveguides, which show enhanced light emission in transverse-magnetic (TM) modes over transverse-electric (TE) ones. ©2007 IEEE.

稗草对水稻及稻田土壤微生物的干扰作用

稗草对水稻的干扰一直是水稻生产中的难题，这种干扰不仅包括竞争和化感作用，而且还有土壤理化因子、土壤微生物和一些土壤酶的参与，所以本研究从水稻、稗草和土壤因子三者相互作用的角度探讨稗草对水稻的干扰作用，主要结论如下： 1、田间条件下，水稻和稗草共生土壤的各种养分在水稻根系附近的分布更丰富，稗草对养分的消耗能力强于水稻；共生处理，化感水稻品种PI312777根区养分含量明显升高，而普通水稻品种辽粳9根区土壤养分含量降低。 2、和稗草共生，PI312777和辽粳9根区土壤中微生物生物量C含量均显著下降，稗草受水稻的影响微生物生物量C含量也被抑制。化感水稻PI312777根系周围细菌和自生固氮菌数量显著增加，真菌、氨化细菌的数量明显下降，而放线菌无明显变化；普通水稻根系周围细菌、真菌、放线菌及氨化细菌数量均显著减少，自生固氮菌数量明显增加。 3、从脱氢酶、脲酶、转化酶和多酚氧化酶活性的变化比较两个水稻品种对抗稗草干扰的能力，化感品种PI312777的表现明显优于普通水稻辽粳9，稗草的存在显著诱导促进了PI312777根区土壤脲酶、转化酶和多酚氧化酶的活性。 4、稗草群体的生命活动对土壤主要微生物类群包括细菌、放线菌、自生固氮菌及氨化细菌的生长和繁殖均有促进作用，而对真菌数量表现为显著抑制。适当的稗草群体对土壤养分的活化作用明显，包括土壤中总N、总P和总K，提高了铵态氮、有效P及速效K的含量，而稗草密度过大则会过量消耗土壤养分。稗草群体的生命活动促进了土壤中脱氢酶、脲酶、转化酶和多酚氧化酶的活性。 5、稗草萌发液及稗草的伴生对三叶期化感水稻化感物质有诱导作用，而且稗草萌发液对水稻的萌发和生长均有抑制作用，尤其对普通水稻品种辽粳9，表明稗草萌发液对水稻有抑制作用。 6、稗草萌发液促进土壤细菌和放线菌的数量，随培养时间的延长，高浓度稗草萌发液的促进作用更明显；真菌和自生固氮菌被高浓度稗草萌发液抑制，而自生固氮菌在培养时间7天以后，适当的浓度可以促进其繁殖。

Efeitos da adubação orgânica e do fósforo sobre a produção de alho em Rio Branco-AC.

O alho é a quarta hortaliça em importância econômica para o Brasil (Filgueira 1982), e o seu cultivo continua em expansão, porém, apresentando de modo geral rendimentos baixos. Segundo Galli et al (1968), citado por Mascarenhas et al (1985), as principais causas desses baixos rendimentos são as doenças causadas por fungos. No Estado do Acre, além das condições climáticas favoráveis às doenças fúngicas, a baixa produtividade deve-se à falta de práticas culturais e fórmulas de adubação adequadas para a cultura. Todos esses fatores são imperativos na pesquisa do alho para essa região. O alho é bastante exigente em nutrientes, principalmente o fósforo e o nitrogênio, e os solos do Acre na sua maioria necessitam de correção de fertilidade, sendo este outro fator limitante a produção de alho, já que os insumos disponíveis no mercado alcançam preços proibitivos e os produtores de hortaliças geralmente não dispõem de muitos recursos financeiros. Segundo Moura et al (1982), o emprego de leguminosas como biofertilizantes proporciona entre outras vantagens a melhoria das propriedades físicas e químicas do solo. A incorporação da matéria orgânica que resulta em húmus e a mineralização do nitrogênio e outros elementos, tem como consequência o aumento do rendimento das culturas.

Yeast screens identify the RNA polymerase II CTD and SPT5 as relevant targets of BRCA1 interaction.

BRCA1 has been implicated in numerous DNA repair pathways that maintain genome integrity, however the function responsible for its tumor suppressor activity in breast cancer remains obscure. To identify the most highly conserved of the many BRCA1 functions, we screened the evolutionarily distant eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisiae for mutants that suppressed the G1 checkpoint arrest and lethality induced following heterologous BRCA1 expression. A genome-wide screen in the diploid deletion collection combined with a screen of ionizing radiation sensitive gene deletions identified mutants that permit growth in the presence of BRCA1. These genes delineate a metabolic mRNA pathway that temporally links transcription elongation (SPT4, SPT5, CTK1, DEF1) to nucleopore-mediated mRNA export (ASM4, MLP1, MLP2, NUP2, NUP53, NUP120, NUP133, NUP170, NUP188, POM34) and cytoplasmic mRNA decay at P-bodies (CCR4, DHH1). Strikingly, BRCA1 interacted with the phosphorylated RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) carboxy terminal domain (P-CTD), phosphorylated in the pattern specified by the CTDK-I kinase, to induce DEF1-dependent cleavage and accumulation of a RNAPII fragment containing the P-CTD. Significantly, breast cancer associated BRCT domain defects in BRCA1 that suppressed P-CTD cleavage and lethality in yeast also suppressed the physical interaction of BRCA1 with human SPT5 in breast epithelial cells, thus confirming SPT5 as a relevant target of BRCA1 interaction. Furthermore, enhanced P-CTD cleavage was observed in both yeast and human breast cells following UV-irradiation indicating a conserved eukaryotic damage response. Moreover, P-CTD cleavage in breast epithelial cells was BRCA1-dependent since damage-induced P-CTD cleavage was only observed in the mutant BRCA1 cell line HCC1937 following ectopic expression of wild type BRCA1. Finally, BRCA1, SPT5 and hyperphosphorylated RPB1 form a complex that was rapidly degraded following MMS treatment in wild type but not BRCA1 mutant breast cells. These results extend the mechanistic links between BRCA1 and transcriptional consequences in response to DNA damage and suggest an important role for RNAPII P-CTD cleavage in BRCA1-mediated cancer suppression.

Determinación del potencial alelopático de cultivares de arroz (Oryza sativa L.) más frecuentemente empleados en la Mesopotamia

El arroz (Oryza sativa L.) es una especie cultivada en todo el mundo y las malezas constituyen uno de los principales factores que afectan su producción. El conocimiento del potencial alelopático de los diferentes cultivares regionales resulta fundamental en términos de posibles estrategias para el control de las mismas. Se evaluó el potencial alelopático en cultivares de arroz utilizados en la Mesopotamia argentina frente a Echinochloa crus galli L. A través de boiensayos RST (Relay Seeding Technique) se determinó que los cultivares El Paso 144 (EP) y Bluebonnet 50 (BB) presentaron mayor bioactividad que Cambá, Yeruá, Irga 147 y Supremo 13. Los posibles aleloquímicos relacionados al potencial inhibitorio fueron evaluados en las raíces de los dos cultivares fuertemente activos (EP) y (BB) y el menos bioactivo (Supremo 13). Mediante técnicas cromatográficas (CG y CLAR) y espectroscópicas (RMN 1H y 13C y EM) se determinó la presencia de hidrocarburos, aldehídos, cetonas, ácidos carboxílicos y sus ésteres metílicos en los extractos no polares. Los cultivares alelopáticos (BB y EP) presentaron mayor proporción de compuestos oxigenados que el no alelopático (Supremo 13). Se informa por primera vez la cetona 6,10,14-trimetil-2-pentadecanona en un cultivar de arroz alelopático. Todos los cultivares de arroz produjeron los ácidos cafeico, vanilico, siríngico, ferúlico y p-cumárico, siendo la concentración de este último mayor en los alelopáticos. En los extractos metanólicos de los cultivares alelopáticos se determinó la presencia del 3-O-? -D-glucopiranósido de sitosterol y de las momilactonas A y B que fueron caracterizadas por técnicas espectroscópicas. Estos resultados son los primeros en relació n al cultivo de arroz en Argentina y tienen utilidad potencial en el control de malezas, en términos del manejo sustentable de los agroecosistemas arroceros.

Datos sobre la vegetación arvense de la Cornisa Cantábrica

En el presente trabajo se analizan las comunidades de malas hierbas de los cultivos de huertas, maíz o patata de la Cornisa Cantábrica. Se concluye que en dicha área sólo se puede reconocer una única comunidad arvense estival (Lamio hybridi-Echicochloetum crus-galli) cuyo nombre se propone, para su corrección a la Comisión de Nomenclatura. Dos nuevas asociaciones se proponen para las comunidades arvenses iverno-primaverales: Fumario capreolatae-Veronicetum persicae y Lamio amplexicaule-Veronicetum hederifoliae.

Nota sobre los brezales de la provincia de Burgos

larazona, 1. & Zaldívar, P.: Notes un beathland nf provínce of Burgos. Wc have studied o this paper <he heathlands in the Cántahro-Euska[dún. CastellanoCantábrico and Ibérico-Soriano ehorological sectors of Burgos. Twu new subasociations are described Dai,eeria- lil/retum ga/// erir-etesuro letra/iris- and Dabaecie- <Iliecturo gal// ardes-íapby-leíun~ rras.sífo//ae. A new provisional cominunitie of Gen/ide//a jr/dentata and Arrtt:,stapiules -rass/Ji1/ce is alse described.