Dot Level Research Articles

Effects of Dietary Supplementation of Zinc Oxide Quantum Dots on Growth Performance and Gut Health in Broilers.

This study aims to investigate the effect of different levels of zinc oxide quantum dots (ZnO-QDs) on the growth performance and gut health in broilers. A total of 1125 1-day-old Ross 308 broilers were randomly divided into five groups with 15 replicates of 15 chicks each. The broilers were fed basal diets supplemented with 0, 40, 80, 120, or 160mg Zn/kg as ZnO-QDs for 6weeks. The results showed that dietary 80 and 120mg Zn/kg ZnO-QD supplementation increased (P < 0.05) average daily gain (1.4-1.7%) and reduced feed conversion ratio (1.3%) compared to the basal diet group during various experimental periods. Meanwhile, 80mg Zn/kg ZnO-QD supplementation increased (P < 0.05) trypsin activity (25.4%), villus height, and the ratio of villus height to crypt depth in the jejunum. Moreover, 80mg Zn/kg ZnO-QD supplementation increased (P < 0.05) the activities of glutathione reductase (47.7%) and superoxide dismutase (30.9%), while 120mg Zn/kg ZnO-QD supplementation decreased (P < 0.05) glutathione peroxidase activity (27.1%) in the jejunum. Furthermore, 40mg Zn/kg ZnO-QD supplementation down-regulated (P < 0.05) the expression of genes; interleukin-2, transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), Cathelicidin-1, Cathelicidin-2, Cathelicidin-3, and Occludin, while 80-160mg Zn/kg ZnO-QD supplementation up-regulated (P < 0.05) Claudin-2 expression in the jejunum. In conclusion, dietary ZnO-QD supplementation improved growth performance of broilers potentially by enhancing their intestinal health status. Based on nonlinear regression analysis, the appropriate level of ZnO-QD supplementation would be from 98.2 to 102.5mg Zn/kg.

Needle in a haystack: Efficiently finding atomically defined quantum dots for electrostatic force microscopy.

The ongoing development of single electron, nano-, and atomic scale semiconductor devices would greatly benefit from a characterization tool capable of detecting single electron charging events with high spatial resolution at low temperatures. In this work, we introduce a novel Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) instrument capable of measuring critical device dimensions, surface roughness, electrical surface potential, and ultimately the energy levels of quantum dots and single electron transistors in ultra miniaturized semiconductor devices. The characterization of nanofabricated devices with this type of instrument presents a challenge: finding the device. We, therefore, also present a process to efficiently find a nanometer sized quantum dot buried in a 10 × 10 mm2 silicon sample using a combination of optical positioning, capacitive sensors, and AFM topography in a vacuum.

S-scheme electron transfer promoted by novel indium oxide quantum dot–loaded carbon nitride heterojunctions promoted using oxidized indium monomers

The graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) photocatalysis has emerged as a clean method for cleaving lignin-linked bonds due to its mild and sunlight-driven reaction conditions. The fast electron–hole pair complex of g-C3N4 constrains its degradation efficiency, making the heterojunction construction a popular solution. The conventional methods of preparing g-C3N4 heterojunctions by physical mixing destroy π-conjugations in g-C3N4, reducing the adsorption of lignin containing benzene rings. In this study, a novel indium oxide (In2O3) quantum dot–g-C3N4 0D/2D heterojunction was prepared through the high-temperature oxidation of pre-prepared indium-doped g-C3N4. The introduction of In2O3 at the quantum dot level minimizes the interference with lignin adsorption capacity. The strong combination of the two (In2O3 and g-C3N4) increases the intersection interface area, promoting the S-scheme transfer route of the photogenerated electrons. Consequently, this enhances the photoelectric conversion efficiency and carrier lifetime of the heterojunction, and inhibits the rapid recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs in g-C3N4. The proposed heterojunction was 3 times more efficient than g-C3N4 alone for selective cleavage of lignin β–O–4 bonds after 2 h of sunlight irradiation. Combined with inhibitor experiments and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis, this paper defines the reactive oxides and proposes a cleavage pathway for the lignin β–O–4 bonds in In2O3–g-C3N4 heterojunction system.

The effect of doping on the electrons and holes in quantum dot semiconductor optical amplifiers

Abstract The doping effect on the reservoir carrier temperature of the electron and hole in quantum dot optical amplifiers (QD SOAs) has been formalized and modeling, taking into account the most of carrier heating (CH) contributions such as; free carrier absorption, carrier heating time relaxation, interdot relaxation time, occupation probability of dot level, injected current and electron-hole interaction. The theoretical simulation shows the carrier temperature increasing straight forward with increasing the surface density of the donor and accepter which had not studied earlier as the best of our knowledge. It clears that, the surface carrier concentration of donor or acceptor atoms supplying more hot carriers for wetting layer (WL) which is leading an increasing the carrier temperature. In other word, the long life time of carriers from WL to Quantum Dot (QD) states is very high. Consequently, the collision of carriers and nonradiative relaxation are increasing the CH effect. Also, the majority of carrier is responsible on the increasing of electron or hole temperature, so the variation electron temperature in N-type is higher than hole in valence band, while the reverse is done with doping with P-type.

Energy Levels of Quantum Dots in Monolayer of Molybdenum Disulfide MoS$$_2$$

Energy Levels of Quantum Dots in Monolayer of Molybdenum Disulfide MoS$$_2$$

Nanomechanical pumping of Cooper pairs through NS junction

We consider a system consisting of a single-level quantum dot that performs mechanical periodic oscillations between spatially distant normal and superconducting electrodes, approaching them at a distance that allows the exchange of electrons through the vacuum tunnel barrier. Considering that the distance between the electrodes is much greater than the tunneling length, we show that charge pumping occurs in such a nanosystem even when the electrochemical potentials of the electrodes coincide. In this case, the direction of the electron flow is determined by the position of the quantum dot level relative to the electrochemical potential in bulk electrodes. The latter can be controlled by applying a voltage between the ground and the electrodes. It is also shown that the value of the average current is critically sensitive to the strength of the tunnel coupling between the quantum dot and the superconducting electrode, which, in turn, is controlled by the amplitude of mechanical oscillations.

Electrically driven light emission from single quantum dots using pulsed MOS capacitors

Robust, nanoscale light-emitting devices are attractive for emerging photonic and quantum engineering applications. However, conventional approaches suffer from fabrication challenges or lack the potential to address individual nanostructures, such as quantum dots. In this paper, we present a device that can produce electrically driven light emission from a single quantum dot using a single carbon nanotube as the charge injection contact. The device has a metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor structure and operates based on an unconventional mechanism of electroluminescence, which relies on the use of bipolar voltage pulses. The proposed device can be fabricated in a simple manner using conventional lithographic processes, offering a scalable approach toward the development of optoelectronic devices at the single dot level.

Thermophase Seebeck Coefficient in Hybridized Superconductor-Quantum-Dot-Superconductor Josephson Junction Side-Coupled to Majorana Nanowire.

The dc Josephson current is generated from phase difference between two superconductors separated by a mesoscopic thin film (Josephson junction) without external bias voltage. In the presence of a temperature gradient across the superconductors, a thermal phase is induced under the condition of open circuit. This is very similar to the Seebeck effect in the usual thermoelectric effect, and the thermal phase is thus named as thermophase Seebeck coefficient (TPSC). Here we find obvious enhancement and sign change of the TPSC unique to the Josephson junction composing of two superconductors connected to a semiconductor quantum dot (QD), which is additionally side-coupled to a nanowire hosting Majorana bound states (MBSs), the system denoted by S-MQD-S. These result arise from the newly developed states near the Fermi level of the superconductors due to the QD-MBS hybridization when the dot level is within the superconducting gap. The sign change of the TPSC provides a strong evidence of the existence of MBSs, and is absent if the QD is coupled to regular fermion, such as another QD (system denoted by S-DQD-S). We show that the magnitude and sign of the TPSC are sensitive to the physical quantities including interaction strength between the QD and MBSs, direct overlap between the MBSs, system equilibrium temperature, as well as hopping amplitude between the QD and the superconductors. The obtained results are explained with the help of the current-carrying density of the states (CCDOS), and may be useful in interdisciplinary research areas of Josephson and Majorana physics.

Monomer-mixed hole transport layers for improving hole injection of quantum dot light-emitting diodes.

Quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) are promising components for next-generation displays and related applications. However, their performance is critically limited by inherent hole-injection barrier caused by deep highest-occupied molecular orbital levels of quantum dots. Herein, we present an effective method for enhancing the performance of QLEDs by incorporating a monomer (TCTA or mCP) into hole-transport layers (HTL). The impact of different monomer concentrations on the characteristics of QLEDs were investigated. The results indicate that sufficient monomer concentrations improve the current efficiency and power efficiency. The increased hole current using monomer-mixed HTL suggests that our method holds considerable potential for high-performance QLEDs.

Application of Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy in the Studies of Colloidal Quantum Qots.

Colloidal quantum dots display remarkable optical and electrical characteristics with the potential for extensive applications in contemporary nanotechnology. As an ideal instrument for examining surface topography and local density of states (LDOS) at an atomic scale, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) has become indispensable approaches to gain better understanding of their physical properties. This article presents a comprehensive review of the research advancements in measuring the electronic orbits and corresponding energy levels of colloidal quantum dots in various systems using STM and STS. The first three sections introduce the basic principles of colloidal quantum dots synthesis and the fundamental methodology of STM research on quantum dots. The fourth section explores the latest progress in the application of STM for colloidal quantum dot studies. Finally, a summary and prospective is presented.

Quantum dots TiO2 loaded amorphous SiO2 composite photocatalysts: Significant performance enhancement and the effect of SiO2 surface hydroxyl groups

Using amorphous SiO2 (A-SiO2) and tetrabutyl titanate (TBOT) as raw material, a composite photocatalyst with surface loaded quantum dot size TiO2 (A-SiO2/TiO2, AST) was prepared. The degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride as well as mechanism of performance improvement by A-SiO2 were investigated. The TiO2 on the composite was anatase with a content of 9.96 wt% and a size of 7–8 nm (quantum dot level). TiO2 was uniformly distributed and was closely bonded at the interface by chemical bonds. The degradation rate of AST was 95% after 60 min UV exposure, which was comparable to pure nano-TiO2. The particle size of TiO2 in AST was reduced from 20–50 nm to 7–8 nm comparing with pure nano-TiO2 and changed from a highly agglomerated to a well-dispersed state due to abundant hydroxyl groups on A-SiO2 surface. TiO2 bandgap width increased from 3.25 eV to 3.39 eV. These led to the exposing of active sites on TiO2 and significantly increased photogenerated carrier separation efficiency. This study provides a feasible and simple method to improve TiO2 nanoparticles’ photocatalytic activity, reduce the usage and achieve recycling to cut the application cost by surface coated.

Majorana tunneling in a non-Hermitian double-quantum-dot structure

In this paper, we investigate a non-Hermitian quantum transport system, which is formed by two quantum dots possessing PT-symmetric complex potentials and side coupled to Majorana fermions. We study the transmission coefficient first. It is found that the conductance is reduced by a factor of 1/4, i.e., G=e2/4h, which can be seen as a signature of Majorana fermion in this double quantum dots structure. It is also found that the joint effects of Majorana tunneling, PT-symmetric complex potentials and dot energy level are mainly as follows: merging process, asymmetry and exceptional point. Then we study the current and conductance driven by a voltage or temperature gradient. Due to the merging process and asymmetry, the thermal current and conductance change sign drastically near the exceptional point. With large fixed temperature difference, the relationship between thermal current and dot level becomes linear, which is a manifestation of Majorana fermion’s robustness. These results can be useful in understanding the quantum transport behaviors modified by the interplay between PT symmetry and Majorana fermions.

Hole and dot sensitivity analysis and level set-based topology optimization of superconducting systems operating under critical current density

Hole and dot sensitivity analysis and level set-based topology optimization of superconducting systems operating under critical current density

Internal Interactions within the Complex Type-II Heterojunction of a Graphitic Carbon Nitride/Black Phosphorus Hybrid Decorated with Graphene Quantum Dots: Implications for Photooxidation Performance

In this study, Fermi levels of graphitic carbon nitride (CN), black phosphorus (BP), and graphene quantum dots (GQDs) were rationally combined and tuned through a band engineering approach. The structure–activity relationship of the resulting heterojunction was characterized by using a combination of X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. The results revealed that CN and BP were in contact through the formed P–N bridges, while the polar functional groups of GQDs interacted with BP and CN via P–O and N–O interactions, respectively. The superior degradation efficiency is attributed to the synergistic effect of the strong coupling at the interfaces where GQDs@CNBP was tested in removal of organic pollutants [methyl orange (MO) and tetracycline (TC)]. The degradation intermediates in both cases were enlightened by NMR experiments showing no trace of either pollutant or photocatalyst in wastewater. The photogenerated charge migration mechanism was experimentally elucidated as a complex-type-II, which is based on the usage of the farthest charges on the band edges. Scavenger experiments and photooxidation of glucose confirmed the in situ generation of oxidative species of •O2–, H2O2, and •OH, which played a vital role in the photooxidation reactions. A GQDs@CNBP heterojunction with the kinetic rate constants of 0.1415 min–1 (30 min) for MO and 0.0371 min–1 (120 min) for TC is one of the highest kinetics that has been reported in the literature so far.

A Strongly Correlated Quantum Dot Heat Engine with Optimal Performance: A Nonequilibrium Green's Function Approach

Herein, an analytical study of a strongly correlated quantum dot‐based thermoelectric particle‐exchange heat engine for both finite and infinite on‐dot Coulomb interaction is presented. Employing Keldysh's nonequilibrium Green's function formalism for different decoupling schemes in the equation of motion, the thermoelectric properties within the nonlinear transport regime have been analyzed. Initially, Hubbard‐I approximation has been used to study the quantum dot level position (), thermal gradient (), and on‐dot Coulomb interaction (U) dependence of the thermoelectric properties. Furthermore, as a natural extension, a decoupling beyond Hubbard‐I (Lacroix approximation) with infinite‐U limit (strong on‐dot Coulomb repulsion) has been used to provide additional insight into the operation of a more practical quantum dot heat engine. Within this infinite‐U limit, the role of the symmetric dot‐reservoir tunneling (Γ) and external serial load resistance (R) in optimizing the performance of the strongly correlated quantum dot heat engine is examined. The infinite‐U results show a good quantitative agreement with recent experimental data for a quantum dot coupled to two metallic reservoirs.

Calibration‐Free and High‐Sensitivity Microwave Detectors Based on InAs/InP Nanowire Double Quantum Dots

AbstractAt the cutting‐edge of microwave detection technology, novel approaches which exploit the interaction between microwaves and quantum devices are rising. In this study, microwaves are efficiently detected exploiting the unique transport features of InAs/InP nanowire double quantum dot‐based devices, suitably configured to allow the precise and calibration‐free measurement of the local field. Prototypical nanoscale detectors are operated both at zero and finite source‐drain bias, addressing and rationalizing the microwave impact on the charge stability diagram. The detector performance is addressed by measuring its responsivity, quantum efficiency and noise equivalent power that, upon impedance matching optimization, are estimated to reach values up to ≈2000 A W−1, 0.04 and ≈, respectively. The interaction mechanism between the microwave field and the quantum confined energy levels of the double quantum dots is unveiled and it is shown that these semiconductor nanostructures allow the direct assessment of the local intensity of the microwave field without the need for any calibration tool. Thus, the reported nanoscale devices based on III‐V nanowire heterostructures represent a novel class of calibration‐free and highly sensitive probes of microwave radiation, with nanometer‐scale spatial resolution, that may foster the development of novel high‐performance microwave circuitries.

Effect of energy level configuration on storage of optical solitons in InAs/GaAs quantum dot electromagnetically induced transparency medium

Based on the current growth technology of quantum dot in the experiment, considering that the probe fields and control fields at different frequencies are coupled between different energy levels of the InAs/GaAs quantum dot, the ladder-type, Λ-type and V-type energy level configurations can be formed. The linear and nonlinear properties of these energy level configurations of InAs/GaAs quantum dots are studied by using semiclassical theory combined with multiple scale method. It is shown that in the linear case, electromagnetic induction transparency windows can be formed among ladder-type, Λ-type and V-type energy level configurations. And the width of the transparent window increases with the strength of the control pulse increasing. For the nonlinear case, under the current experimental condition, optical solitons can be formed and stored in ladder-type configuration and &lt;inline-formula&gt;&lt;tex-math id="M6"&gt;\begin{document}$ {{\Lambda }} $\end{document}&lt;/tex-math&gt;&lt;alternatives&gt;&lt;graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="8-20221965_M6.jpg"/&gt;&lt;graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="8-20221965_M6.png"/&gt;&lt;/alternatives&gt;&lt;/inline-formula&gt;-type energy level configuration. However, optical solitons cannot be formed in the V-type energy level configurations, which is because the nonlinear effect of the system is very weak. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the fidelity of the storage and retrieval of the optical solitons is higher than that of linear optical pulse and strongly nonlinear optical pulse. Interestingly, it is also found that the amplitude of stored optical solitons in &lt;inline-formula&gt;&lt;tex-math id="M8"&gt;\begin{document}$ {{\Lambda }} $\end{document}&lt;/tex-math&gt;&lt;alternatives&gt;&lt;graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="8-20221965_M8.jpg"/&gt;&lt;graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="8-20221965_M8.png"/&gt;&lt;/alternatives&gt;&lt;/inline-formula&gt;-type energy level configuration is higher than that in ladder-type energy level configuration. This study provides a theoretical basis for semiconductor quantum dot devices to modulate the amplitude of the stored optical solitons.

Purifying single photon emission from giant shell CdSe/CdS quantum dots at room temperature.

Giant shell CdSe/CdS quantum dots are bright and flexible emitters, with near-unity quantum yield and suppressed blinking, but their single photon purity is reduced by efficient multiexcitonic emission. We report the observation, at the single dot level, of a large blueshift of the photoluminescence biexciton spectrum (24 ± 5 nm over a sample of 32 dots) for pure-phase wurtzite quantum dots. By spectral filtering, we demonstrate a 2.3 times reduction of the biexciton quantum yield relative to the exciton emission, while preserving as much as 60% of the exciton single photon emission, thus improving the purity from g2(0) = 0.07 ± 0.01 to g2(0) = 0.03 ± 0.01. At a larger pump fluency, spectral purification is even more effective with up to a 6.6 times reduction in g2(0), which is due to the suppression of higher order excitons and shell states experiencing even larger blueshifts. Our results indicate the potential for the synthesis of engineered giant shell quantum dots, with further increased biexciton blueshifts, for quantum optical applications requiring both high purity and brightness.

Two-stage decoupling effect in electron transport through T-shaped quantum dots coupled via Majorana bound states

We investigate the electron transport through a multiple T-shaped quantum-dot structure in which the dots in the main channel are coupled to additional dots by Majorana bound states (MBSs) at the ends of one topological-superconducting nanowires. Calculation results show that at the zero-bias limit, the transport behavior displays the interesting two-stage decoupling effect, when the additional-dot levels shift around the Fermi energy. Firstly, if the levels of such dots are the same as the Fermi energy, their-coupled MBSs will be decoupled from the other MBSs. This leads to various zero-bias conductance results which are determined by the different dot-MBS coupling manners. Next when these levels depart away from the Fermi energy, the MBS pairs will be decoupled from the main channel simultaneously, and this system becomes equivalent to the structure with serially-coupled quantum dots. The findings in this work provide new understanding about the interplay between the quantum dot and MBSs in driving the electron transport through quantum-dot systems.

Dynamical charge susceptibility in nonequilibrium double quantum dots

Double quantum dots are one of the promising two-state quantum systems for realizing qubits. In the quest of successfully manipulating and reading information in qubit systems, it is of prime interest to control the charge response of the system to a gate voltage, as filled in by the dynamical charge susceptibility. We theoretically study this quantity for a nonequilibrium double quantum dot by using the functional integral approach and derive its general analytical expression. One highlights the existence of two lines of maxima as a function of the dot level energies, each of them being split under the action of a bias voltage. In the low frequency limit, we derive the capacitance and the charge relaxation resistance of the equivalent quantum RC-circuit with a notable difference in the range of variation for $R$ depending on whether the system is connected in series or in parallel. By incorporating an additional triplet state in order to describe the situation of a double quantum dot with spin, we obtain results for the resonator phase response which are in qualitative agreement with recent experimental observations in spin qubit systems. These results show the wealth of information brought by the knowledge of dynamical charge susceptibility in double quantum dots with potential applications for spin qubits.