ß12-Borophene becomes a semiconductor and semimetal via a perpendicular electric field and dilute charged impurity.

In this paper, the possible electronic phase transitions of ß12-borophene crystal are examined using a five-band tight-binding calculation. For different tight-binding models, the Green's function technique is employed for the electronic density of states (DOS). We focus on the modulation of the DOS around the Fermi level with a perpendicular electric field and the dilute charged impurity. The steps to incorporate the effects of external electric field and charged impurity are also detailed with the local Hamiltonian model and the Born approximation, respectively. Our calculations show that the inversion symmetric model is the proper model to discuss the metallic phase of the system, entailing different results compared to the homogeneous model. We find that the electric field opens a tunable band gap and a metal-to-p-doped semiconductor phase transition emerges at the strong perpendicular electric field. The influence of impurity scattering potential on the electronic phase of ß12-borophene is much larger than the impurity concentration, in which a metal-to-n-doped semiconductor (metal-to-semimetal) transition takes place at high scattering potentials for the homogeneous (inversion symmetric) model, whereas there is no transition when the impurity concentration is changed. Thereby, producing semimetallic/semiconducting properties by applying an appropriate external electric field and dilute charged impurities paves the way for the realization of ß12-borophene-based nano-optoelectronic devices.

Magneto-EELS of armchair boronitrene nanoribbons.

The evolution of the electron energy loss spectrum (EELS) of ultranarrow armchair boron nitride nanoribbons (aBNNRs) during low and high photon energy transfers has been studied theoretically when a magnetic field and temperature gradient are applied. In order to achieve this goal, the widely used linear response theory within the Green's function theory was employed. Here, using the EELS we show that σ ↦ σ* or π ↦ π* and σ ↦ π* or π ↦ σ* excitations corresponding to the intraband and interband transitions, respectively, can be tuned by ribbon width, magnetic field, wave vector transfer, and temperature. A comparison with experimental studies reveals that for realistic ribbon widths, i.e. 10-100 nm, both excitations are weak. However, we observe that only transitions between the same states, i.e. σ ↦ σ* or π ↦ π* can be controlled with a magnetic field due to the localized highest occupied and lowest unoccupied states at low-energy regions and different states are not influenced when the magnetic field is applied. Interestingly, the detailed shape of the magneto-EELS of the 7-aBNNR indicates a direct-to-indirect band gap transition when the wave vector transfer is perpendicular to the 7-aBNNR plane. Finally, we discover that there is an anomalous behavior for the temperature dependence of the magneto-EELS in general. The present work brings forward the understanding of the magneto-EELS of ultranarrow aBNNRs under different environmental conditions for logic applications in nanoplasmonics.

Structural and electronic properties of a van der Waals heterostructure based on silicene and gallium selenide: effect of strain and electric field.

Combining van der Waals heterostructures by stacking different two-dimensional materials on top of each other layer-by-layer can enhance their desired properties and greatly extend the applications of the parent materials. In this work, by means of first principles calculations, we investigate systematically the structural and electronic properties of six different stacking configurations of a Si/GaSe heterostructure. The effect of biaxial strain and electric field on the electronic properties of the most energetically stable configuration of the Si/GaSe heterostructure has also been discussed. At the equilibrium state, the electronic properties of the Si/GaSe heterostructure in all its stacking configurations are well kept as compared with that of single layers owing to their weak van der Waals interactions. Interestingly, we find that a sizable band gap is opened at the Dirac K point of silicene in the Si/GaSe heterostructure, which could be further controlled by biaxial strain or electric field. These findings open up a possibility for designing silicene-based electronic devices, which exhibit a controllable band gap. Furthermore, the Si/GaSe heterostructure forms an n-type Schottky contact with a small Schottky barrier height of 0.23 eV. A transformation from the n-type Schottky contact to a p-type one, or from the Schottky contact to an ohmic contact may occur in the Si/GaSe heterostructure when strain or an electric field is applied.

Charged impurity-tuning of midgap states in biased Bernal bilayer black phosphorus: an anisotropic electronic phase transition.

In this paper, we analytically investigate the electronic density of states (DOS) of bilayer Bernal black phosphorus (BBP) in order to study the anisotropic electronic phase transition. We employ the Green's function approach, the Born approximation, and the tight-binding Hamiltonian model including ten intra-layer and four inter-layer hopping energies. BBP consisting of two coupled layers of black phosphorus is a suitable candidate for studying the layer-dependent electronic properties of few-layer black phosphorus. We examine the electronic properties of BBP under conditions in which only one layer and both layers are subjected to a dilute charged impurity and a perpendicular electric field. Our findings show that there is no phase transition when the impurity is doped on only one layer, whereas in the case of both layers, BBP suffers a phase transition from semiconductor to semimetal at strong impurity scattering potentials. Also, applying the electric field on one layer of BBP leads to an increase in the band gap, whereas in the case of both layers, the band gap decreases with the electric field and eventually, a phase transition appears at a bias voltage of more than 1.8 eV. Consequently, the band gap of BBP can be tuned by applying an electric field and a charged impurity, and thereby these findings provide insights for future experimental research on black phosphorus.

Collection of Oral Fluids Using Cotton Ropes as a Sampling Method to Detect Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus Infection in Pigs.

In high-density farming practices, it is important to constantly monitor for infectious diseases, especially diseases that have the potential to spread rapidly between holdings. Pigs are known to amplify foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) by excreting large amounts of virus, and it is therefore important to detect the virus quickly and accurately to minimize the spread of disease. Ropes were used to collect oral fluid samples from pigs, and each sample was compared to saliva samples collected from individual animals by detecting FMD virus RNA using real-time PCR. Two different experiments are described where groups of pigs were infected with different serotypes of FMD virus, either with or without vaccination, and unvaccinated pigs were kept in aerosol contact. The sensitivity of the rope sampling varied between 0.67 and 0.92, and the statistical agreement between this method and individual sampling ranged from substantial to moderate for the two different serotypes. The ease of collecting oral fluids using ropes together with the high sensitivity of subsequent FMD detection through PCR indicates that this could be a useful method to monitor pig populations for FMD virus infection. With further validation of the sensitivity of detection of FMD virus RNA, this can be a cost-effective, non-invasive diagnostic tool.