Growth of beta barium borate (beta-BaB2O4) thin films on alpha barium borate (alpha-BaB2O4) substrates

Crystalline beta-BBO thin films have been successfully prepared on (001)-oriented Sr2+-doped alpha-BBO substrates using liquid phase epitaxy and pulsed laser deposition techniques. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction and X-ray rocking curve (XRC). The present results manifest that the beta-BBO thin films grown on Sr2+-doped alpha-BBO substrates have larger degree of orientation f-value and smaller XRC FWHM than the ones grown on other reported substrates. Compared with other substrates, alpha-BBO has the same UV cutoff and the similar structure to beta-BBO. These results reveal that alpha-BBO single crystal may be a promising substrate proper to the growth of beta-BBO films. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fabrication of beta-BaB2O4 layers on (001) Sr2+-doped alpha-BaB2O4 by vapor transport equilibration (VTE)

Crystalline beta-BBO layers have been successfully prepared on (0 0 1)-oriented Sr2+-doped alpha-BBO substrates using vapor transport equilibration technique. The layers were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray rocking curve and transmission spectra. The present results manifest that the VTE treatment time and powder ratio are important factors on the preparation of beta-BBO layers. beta-BBO layers with a highly (0 0 l) preferred orientation were obtained according to XRD profiles. The full width at half-maximum of the rocking curve for the layer is as low as about 1000 in., which shows the high crystallinity of the layer. These results reveal the possibility of fabricating beta-BBO (0 0 1) layers on (0 0 1)-oriented Sr2+-doped alpha-BBO substrates by VTE. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Defects in LPE-grown beta-barium borate (beta-BaB2O4) thin films

Morphological defects in beta-barium borate (beta-BBO) thin films grown on Sr2+ -doped alpha-BBO substrates by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) technique were studied by scanning electron micrograph (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical spectroscopy. The present results indicate that the main defects exit in beta-BBO thin films are microcracks and hollow structure. The formation of microcrack is due to the lattice mismatch and the difference of thermal expansion coefficients between substrate and film. The hollow structure might be caused during the combination of islands, which formed in the initial stage. (C) 2006 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Structure and non-linear optical properties of beta-barium borate

The non-linear optical (NLO) properties of crystalline beta-BaB2O4 (beta-barium borate, BBO) have been investigated from the chemical bond viewpoint. The contributions of each type of chemical bond to the total NLO coefficient have been quantitatively determined. The calculations indicate that the true space group of BBO is R3 rather than R3c.

Microstructure of the crystals generated in borate glass irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses

In this study, we examined the microstructure of crystals generated in borate glass by femtosecond laser irradiation (FSLI). The distribution of the high-temperature and low-temperature phases of barium metaborate crystals produced in the borate glass is analyzed using Raman spectroscopy. We then propose the possible mechanism for the generation of crystals in glass by FSLI.

Nonlinear optical properties of (B3O7)(5-) and (B3O6)(3-) groups

From the chemical bond viewpoint, LiB3O5 (LBO) crystal has been studied by using the bond valence theory of complex crystals. Chemical bond parameters and linear and nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of each type of constituent chemical bonds are quantitatively determined. Because of the different crystal structure characteristics of LBO from those of beta-BaB2O4 (BBO), the two anionic groups, (B3O7)(5-) in LBO and (B3O6)(3-) in BBO, play different roles in contributions to their own total NLO tensor coefficients of LBO and BBO, respectively. By comparison, we find that planar (B3O6)(3-) groups are the ideal structure model, leading to little cancellation of contributions of each kind of bond in these groups, and this gives us a useful guide to design new NLO materials in the future.

Surface modification and crystallization of the BaO-B2O3-SiO2 glassy system using CO2 laser irradiation

The surface modification and crystallization process of BaO-B2O3-SiO2 glass compositions when exposed to CO2 laser irradiation was evaluated as a function of the laser power, irradiation time and surface condition. The glass surface was modified by the application of laser power exceeding 0.40 W and an irradiation time of more than 300 s. Micro-Raman and X-ray diffraction measurements revealed at high laser power the formation of beta-BaB2O4 (beta-BBO) crystalline phase. The crystallization of the irradiated region was enhanced when beta-BBO micrometer sized particles were dispersed on the surface of the glass sample. The intensity of the second harmonic generation observed in the crystallized region was found to depend mainly on the condition of the glassy surface prior to glass irradiation. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preparation of crystalline beta barium borate thin films on Sr2+-doped alpha barium borate substrates by liquid phase epitaxy

Thin films of beta barium borate have been prepared by liquid phase epitaxy on Si2+-doped alpha-BaB2O4 (alpha-BBO, the high temperature phase of barium berate) (001) and (110) substrates. The results of X-ray diffraction indicate that the films show highly (001) preferred orientation on (001)-oriented substrates while the films grown on (110) substrates are textured with (140) orientation. The crystallinity of these films was found to depend on growth temperature, rotation rate, dip time and orientation of substrate. Growth conditions were optimized to grow films with (001) orientation on (001) substrates reproducibly. The films show second harmonic generation of 400 nm light upon irradiation with 800 nm Ti: Sapphire femtosecond laser light. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Vitronectin modulates human mesenchymal stem cell response to insulin-like growth factor-I and transforming growth factor beta 1 in a serum-free environment

The use of animal sera for the culture of therapeutically important cells impedes the clinical use of the cells. We sought to characterize the functional response of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) to specific proteins known to exist in bone tissue with a view to eliminating the requirement of animal sera. Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), via IGF binding protein-3 or -5 (IGFBP-3 or -5) and transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta(1)) are known to associate with the extracellular matrix (ECM) protein vitronectin (VN) and elicit functional responses in a range of cell types in vitro. We found that specific combinations of VN, IGFBP-3 or -5, and IGF-I or TGF-beta(1) could stimulate initial functional responses in hMSCs and that IGF-I or TGF-beta(1) induced hMSC aggregation, but VN concentration modulated this effect. We speculated that the aggregation effect may be due to endogenous protease activity, although we found that neither IGF-I nor TGF-beta(1) affected the functional expression of matrix metalloprotease-2 or -9, two common proteases expressed by hMSCs. In summary, combinations of the ECM and growth factors described herein may form the basis of defined cell culture media supplements, although the effect of endogenous protease expression on the function of such proteins requires investigation.

A functional screen identifies lateral transfer of beta-glucuronidase (gus) from bacteria to fungi

Lateral gene transfer (LGT) from prokaryotes to microbial eukaryotes is usually detected by chance through genome-sequencing projects. Here, we explore a different, hypothesis-driven approach. We show that the fitness advantage associated with the transferred gene, typically invoked only in retrospect, can be used to design a functional screen capable of identifying postulated LGT cases. We hypothesized that beta-glucuronidase (gus) genes may be prone to LGT from bacteria to fungi (thought to lack gus) because this would enable fungi to utilize glucuronides in vertebrate urine as a carbon source. Using an enrichment procedure based on a glucose-releasing glucuronide analog (cellobiouronic acid), we isolated two gus(+) ascomycete fungi from soils (Penicillium canescens and Scopulariopsis sp.). A phylogenetic analysis suggested that their gus genes, as well as the gus genes identified in genomic sequences of the ascomycetes Aspergillus nidulans and Gibberella zeae, had been introgressed laterally from high-GC gram(+) bacteria. Two such bacteria (Arthrobacter spp.), isolated together with the gus(+) fungi, appeared to be the descendants of a bacterial donor organism from which gus had been transferred to fungi. This scenario was independently supported by similar substrate affinities of the encoded beta-glucuronidases, the absence of introns from fungal gus genes, and the similarity between the signal peptide-encoding 5' extensions of some fungal gus genes and the Arthrobacter sequences upstream of gus. Differences in the sequences of the fungal 5' extensions suggested at least two separate introgression events after the divergence of the two main Euascomycete classes. We suggest that deposition of glucuronides on soils as a result of the colonization of land by vertebrates may have favored LGT of gus from bacteria to fungi in soils.