Self-Diffusion in Amorphous Silicon by Local Bond Rearrangements.

Experiments on self-diffusion in amorphous silicon (Si) were performed at temperatures between 460 to 600° C. The amorphous structure was prepared by Si ion implantation of single crystalline Si isotope multilayers epitaxially grown on a silicon-on-insulator wafer. The Si isotope profiles before and after annealing were determined by means of secondary ion mass spectrometry. Isothermal diffusion experiments reveal that structural relaxation does not cause any significant intermixing of the isotope interfaces whereas self-diffusion is significant before the structure recrystallizes. The temperature dependence of self-diffusion is described by an Arrhenius law with an activation enthalpy Q=(2.70±0.11) eV and preexponential factor D_{0}=(5.5_{-3.7}^{+11.1})×10^{-2} cm^{2} s^{-1}. Remarkably, Q equals the activation enthalpy of hydrogen diffusion in amorphous Si, the migration of bond defects determining boron diffusion, and the activation enthalpy of solid phase epitaxial recrystallization reported in the literature. This close agreement provides strong evidence that self-diffusion is mediated by local bond rearrangements rather than by the migration of extended defects as suggested by Strauß et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 025901 (2016)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.116.025901).

Aluminum nanoparticles for plasmon-improved coupling of light into silicon.

This paper investigates the improved photo-current response obtained by depositing Al nanoparticles on top of a Si diode. Well defined Al nanodiscs with a diameter and height of 100 nm are produced on the surface of a Si diode using electron-beam lithography, and the change in photo-current generation is characterized. A blue shift of the photo-current response is demonstrated, substantially improving the relation between gains and losses compared to what is typically observed in similar schemes using Ag nanoparticles. Enhanced photo-current response is observed in diodes with Al particles on the surface at all wavelengths larger than ≈465 nm, thereby minimizing the losses in the blue range usually reported with Ag nanoparticles on the surface.

Responses of fibroblasts and glial cells to nanostructured platinum surfaces.

The chronic performance of implantable neural prostheses is affected by the growth of encapsulation tissue onto the stimulation electrodes. Encapsulation is associated with activation of connective tissue cells at the electrode's metallic contacts, usually made of platinum. Since surface nanotopography can modulate the cellular responses to materials, the aim of the present work was to evaluate the 'in vitro' responses of connective tissue cells to platinum strictly by modulating its surface nanoroughness. Using molecular beam epitaxy combined with sputtering, we produced platinum nanostructured substrates consisting of irregularly distributed nanopyramids and investigated their effect on the proliferation, cytoskeletal organization and cellular morphology of primary fibroblasts and transformed glial cells. Cells were cultured on these substrates and their responses to surface roughness were studied. After one day in culture, the fibroblasts were more elongated and their cytoskeleton less mature when cultured on rough substrates. This effect increased as the roughness of the surface increased and was associated with reduced cell proliferation throughout the observation period (4 days). Morphological changes also occurred in glial cells, but they were triggered by a different roughness scale and did not affect cellular proliferation. In conclusion, surface nanotopography modulates the responses of fibroblasts and glial cells to platinum, which may be an important factor in optimizing the tissue response to implanted neural electrodes.