Voltage-dependent Gating Research Articles

Nanocontact Disorder in InP Nanowire Devices for the Enhancement of Visible Light and Oxygen Gas Sensitivities

InP nanowires, synthesized through a self-seeded growth approach, are used in the fabrication of field-effect transistors which consist of source, drain, and back-gate electrodes. The weak gating voltage dependence implies low carrier concentrations whereas its behavior reveals native n-type doping in InP nanowires. These InP nanowire devices exhibit a vast variation of room-temperature resistance that raises a question about contact resistance. For devices of low room-temperature resistance, electron transport in InP nanowires is investigated using temperature dependent resistance in the temperature range between 80 and 300 K, and it can be analyzed using the model of thermal activation. For other devices of high room-temperature resistance, we take into account nanocontact resistance. Models of both Schottky contact and Mott's variable range hopping (VRH) are considered. The two resistances are connected in parallel to give total contact resistance of InP nanowire devices. After fitting experimental data by the proposed model, we estimate effective Schottky barriers and disorder contributions to nanocontact resistance. The effective Schottky barrier, and the nanocontact Schottky and Mott's VRH resistances are plotted as a function of the device room-temperature resistance which indicates the scale of disorder. Using room-temperature resistance of InP nanowire devices, the devices are classified into nanowire- or contact-dominated devices. The two different class of devices are used to check their photo- and gas-sensitivities. The contact-dominated InP nanowire devices show low dark current and low photocurrent as usual, but these contact-dominated devices give high ratio of photo- to dark-current. That result reveals a high photo-sensitivity for those devices of high nanocontact resistance. On the other hand, for gas sensing experiments, the contact-dominated devices show as well a high ratio of resistance under O2 to that under N2 gas exposure.

Two-instanton approximation to the Coulomb blockade problem

We develop the two-instanton approximation to the current-voltage characteristic of a single electron transistor within the Ambegaokar-Eckern-Sch\"on model. We determine the temperature and gate voltage dependence of the Coulomb blockade oscillations of the conductance and the effective charge. We find that a small (in comparison with the charging energy) bias voltage leads to significant suppression of the Coulomb blockade oscillations and to appearance of the bias-dependent phase shift.

Mining Protein Evolution for Insights into Mechanisms of Voltage-Dependent Sodium Channel Auxiliary Subunits.

Voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) beta (β) subunits have been called the "overachieving" auxiliary ion channel subunit. Indeed, these subunits regulate the trafficking of the sodium channel complex at the plasma membrane and simultaneously tune the voltage-dependent properties of the pore-forming alpha-subunit. It is now known that VGSC β-subunits are capable of similar modulation of multiple isoforms of related voltage-gated potassium channels, suggesting that their abilities extend into the broader voltage-gated channels. The gene family for these single transmembrane immunoglobulin beta-fold proteins extends well beyond the traditional VGSC β1-β4 subunit designation, with deep roots into the cell adhesion protein family and myelin-related proteins - where inherited mutations result in a myriad of electrical signaling disorders. Yet, very little is known about how VGSC β-subunits support protein trafficking pathways, the basis for their modulation of voltage-dependent gating, and, ultimately, their role in shaping neuronal excitability. An evolutionary approach can be useful in yielding new clues to such functions as it provides an unbiased assessment of protein residues, folds, and functions. An approach is described here which indicates the greater emergence of the modern β-subunits roughly 400 million years ago in the early neurons of Bilateria and bony fish, and the unexpected presence of distant homologues in bacteriophages. Recent structural breakthroughs containing α and β eukaryotic sodium channels containing subunits suggest a novel role for a highly conserved polar contact that occurs within the transmembrane segments. Overall, a mixture of approaches will ultimately advance our understanding of the mechanism for β-subunit interactions with voltage-sensor containing ion channels and membrane proteins.

Characterization and Modeling of NBTI in Nanoscale UltraThin Body UltraThin Box FD-SOI MOSFETs

The negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) is investigated in ultrathin body ultrathin box (UTBB) fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) p-MOSFETs with zero back gate bias and small drain bias voltage. The threshold voltage shifts during stress at different temperatures and gate bias voltage conditions show that the NBTI is dominated by the trapping of holes in preexisting traps of the gate dielectric, while the recovery transient follows a logarithmic-like time dependence. Considering the hole-trapping/detrapping mechanisms, NBTI modeling has been proposed capturing the temperature and gate voltage dependence.

Random telegraph noise on the threshold voltage of multi-level flash memory☆☆Project supported by the National Research Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFB0400402), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, China (Grant No. BK20141321), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61627804).

We investigate the impact of random telegraph noise (RTN) on the threshold voltage of multi-level NOR flash memory. It is found that the threshold voltage variation () and the distribution due to RTN increase with the programmed level () of flash cells. The gate voltage dependence of RTN amplitude and the variability of RTN time constants suggest that the large RTN amplitude and distribution at the high program level is attributed to the charge trapping in the tunneling oxide layer induced by the high programming voltages. A three-dimensional TCAD simulation based on a percolation path model further reveals the contribution of those trapped charges to the threshold voltage variation and distribution in flash memory.

Observation of charge transport through CdSe/ZnS quantum dots in a single-electron transistor structure

We fabricated single-electron transistors (SETs) having CdSe/ZnS core-shell-type quantum dots (CdSe/ZnS-QDs) as a Coulomb island using a wet chemistry technique. The CdSe/ZnS-QDs were deposited onto Au electrodes with or without the assistance of a self-assembled monolayer of octane(di)thiols. The CdSe/ZnS-QDs were adsorbed onto the Au electrodes even without the interlayer of thiol molecules depending on the concentration of the CdSe/ZnS-QD solution. The electron-transport characteristics through the CdSe/ZnS-QDs were examined in an SET structure at 13 K. Coulomb blockade behavior with typical gate voltage dependence was clearly observed. The estimated charge addition energies of a CdSe/ZnS-QD ranged from 70 to 280 meV. Moreover, additional structures, including negative differential conductance, appeared in the stability diagram in the source-drain bias region beyond 100 mV; these structures are specific to single-charge transport through the discrete energy levels in the Coulomb island.

Electromechanical transition in quantum dots

The strong coupling between electronic transport in a single-level quantum dot and a capacitively coupled nano-mechanical oscillator may lead to a transition towards a mechanically-bistable and blocked-current state. Its observation is at reach in carbon-nanotube state-of-art experiments. In a recent publication [Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 206802 (2015)] we have shown that this transition is characterized by pronounced signatures on the oscillator mechanical properties: the susceptibility, the displacement fluctuation spectrum and the ring-down time. These properties are extracted from transport measurements, however the relation between the mechanical quantities and the electronic signal is not always straightforward. Moreover the dependence of the same quantities on temperature, bias or gate voltage, and external dissipation has not been studied. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap and provide a detailed description of the transition. Specifically we find: (i) The relation between the current-noise and the displacement spectrum. (ii) The peculiar behavior of the gate-voltage dependence of these spectra at the transition. (iii) The robustness of the transition towards the effect of external fluctuations and dissipation.

Surface Properties from Transconductance in Nanoscale Systems.

Because of the continued scaling of transistor dimensions and incorporation of nanostructured materials into modern electronic and optoelectronic devices, surfaces and interfaces have become a dominant factor dictating material properties and device performance. In this study, we investigate the temperature-dependent electronic transport properties of InAs nanowire field-effect transistors. A point where the nanowire conductance becomes independent of temperature is observed, known as the zero-temperature-coefficient. The distribution of surface states is determined by a spectral analysis of the conductance activation energy and used to develop a carrier transport model that explains the existence and gate voltage dependence of this point. We determine that the position of this point in gate voltage is directly related to the fixed oxide charge on the nanowire surface and demonstrate the utility of this method for studying surface passivations in nanoscale systems by characterizing (NH4)2Sx and H2 plasma surface treatments on InAs nanowires.

Signatures of subband quantization in the Coulomb blockade regime of a disordered quantum wire

Abstract We report experiments on the two-terminal conductance of a long disordered quantum wire in a perpendicular magnetic field. Pronouncedly enhanced magnetoconductance in magnetic fields of intermediate strength is observed in the Coulomb blockade regime, which is well explained using the boundary roughness scattering and the subband quantization of the quantum wire, by modeling the disordered quantum wire as that of a quantum dot defined in a quantum wire. Assuming a parabolic constriction in the disordered quantum wire, we further obtained the magnetic field dependence of high energy levels in the quantum dot and the gate voltage dependence of the effective width of the quantum wire. Our results may provide useful information for further studies on integrated structures in on-chip laboratories.

(Invited) Generation-Recombination Noise in Advanced CMOS Devices

This paper gives an overview of the occurrence of Generation-Recombination (GR) noise in advanced submicron Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors (MOSFETs). GR noise corresponds with a Lorentzian spectrum, characterized by a plateau amplitude and a corner frequency. Studying the gate voltage dependence of these parameters enables to distinguish trap centers in the depletion region of the semiconductor or in the gate dielectric. In the latter case, single defects are at the origin of the Lorentzian spectrum, which usually give rise to two-level fluctuations in the time domain, also called Random Telegraph Signals (RTSs). Here, it will be outlined how information regarding the energy level (ET), the trap concentration (NT) or the trap position can be extracted from studying the GR noise as a function of temperature or gate voltage.

Structure of the voltage-gated K⁺ channel Eag1 reveals an alternative voltage sensing mechanism.

Voltage-gated potassium (K(v)) channels are gated by the movement of the transmembrane voltage sensor, which is coupled, through the helical S4-S5 linker, to the potassium pore. We determined the single-particle cryo-electron microscopy structure of mammalian K(v)10.1, or Eag1, bound to the channel inhibitor calmodulin, at 3.78 angstrom resolution. Unlike previous K(v) structures, the S4-S5 linker of Eag1 is a five-residue loop and the transmembrane segments are not domain swapped, which suggest an alternative mechanism of voltage-dependent gating. Additionally, the structure and position of the S4-S5 linker allow calmodulin to bind to the intracellular domains and to close the potassium pore, independent of voltage-sensor position. The structure reveals an alternative gating mechanism for K(v) channels and provides a template to further understand the gating properties of Eag1 and related channels.

Twists and turns in gating ion channels with voltage

The EAG potassium channel may use an alternative voltage-dependent gating mechanism

Calmodulin Regulates Human Ether à Go-Go 1 (hEAG1) Potassium Channels through Interactions of the Eag Domain with the Cyclic Nucleotide Binding Homology Domain

The ether à go-go family of voltage-gated potassium channels is structurally distinct. The N terminus contains an eag domain (eagD) that contains a Per-Arnt-Sim (PAS) domain that is preceded by a conserved sequence of 25–27 amino acids known as the PAS-cap. The C terminus contains a region with homology to cyclic nucleotide binding domains (cNBHD), which is directly linked to the channel pore. The human EAG1 (hEAG1) channel is remarkably sensitive to inhibition by intracellular calcium (Ca2+i) through binding of Ca2+-calmodulin to three sites adjacent to the eagD and cNBHD. Here, we show that the eagD and cNBHD interact to modulate Ca2+-calmodulin as well as voltage-dependent gating. Sustained elevation of Ca2+i resulted in an initial profound inhibition of hEAG1 currents, which was followed by a phase when current amplitudes partially recovered, but activation gating was slowed and shifted to depolarized potentials. Deletion of either the eagD or cNBHD abolished the inhibition by Ca2+i. However, deletion of just the PAS-cap resulted in a >15-fold potentiation in response to elevated Ca2+i. Mutations of residues at the interface between the eagD and cNBHD have been linked to human cancer. Glu-600 on the cNBHD, when substituted with residues with a larger volume, resulted in hEAG1 currents that were profoundly potentiated by Ca2+i in a manner similar to the ΔPAS-cap mutant. These findings provide the first evidence that eagD and cNBHD interactions are regulating Ca2+-dependent gating and indicate that the binding of the PAS-cap with the cNBHD is required for the closure of the channels upon CaM binding.

Gating of the two-pore cation channel AtTPC1 in the plant vacuole is based on a single voltage-sensing domain.

The two-pore cation channel TPC1 operates as a dimeric channel in animal and plant endomembranes. Each subunit consists of two homologous Shaker-like halves, with 12 transmembrane domains in total (S1-S6, S7-S12). In plants, TPC1 channels reside in the vacuolar membrane, and upon voltage stimulation, give rise to the well-known slow-activating SV currents. Here, we combined bioinformatics, structure modelling, site-directed mutagenesis, and in planta patch clamp studies to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of voltage-dependent channel gating in TPC1 in its native plant background. Structure-function analysis of the Arabidopsis TPC1 channel in planta confirmed that helix S10 operates as the major voltage-sensing site, with Glu450 and Glu478 identified as possible ion-pair partners for voltage-sensing Arg537. The contribution of helix S4 to voltage sensing was found to be negligible. Several conserved negative residues on the luminal site contribute to calcium binding, stabilizing the closed channel. During evolution of plant TPC1s from two separate Shaker-like domains, the voltage-sensing function in the N-terminal Shaker-unit (S1-S4) vanished.

Charged Residues at the First Transmembrane Region Contribute to the Voltage Dependence of the Slow Gate of Connexins

Connexins (Cxs) are a family of membrane-spanning proteins that form gap junction channels and hemichannels. Connexin-based channels exhibit two distinct voltage-dependent gating mechanisms termed slow and fast gating. Residues located at the C terminus of the first transmembrane segment (TM-1) are important structural components of the slow gate. Here, we determined the role of the charged residues at the end of TM-1 in voltage sensing in Cx26, Cx46, and Cx50. Conductance/voltage curves obtained from tail currents together with kinetics analysis reveal that the fast and slow gates of Cx26 involves the movement of two and four charges across the electric field, respectively. Primary sequence alignment of different Cxs shows the presence of well conserved glutamate residues in the C terminus of TM-1; only Cx26 contains a lysine in that position (lysine 41). Neutralization of lysine 41 in Cx26 increases the voltage dependence of the slow gate. Swapping of lysine 41 with glutamate 42 maintains the voltage dependence. In Cx46, neutralization of negative charges or addition of a positive charge in the Cx26 equivalent region reduced the slow gate voltage dependence. In Cx50, the addition of a glutamate in the same region decreased the voltage dependence, and the neutralization of a negative charge increased it. These results indicate that the charges at the end of TM-1 are part of the slow gate voltage sensor in Cxs. The fact that Cx42, which has no charge in this region, still presents voltage-dependent slow gating suggests that charges still unidentified also contribute to the slow gate voltage sensitivity.

Optical Blocking of Electron Tunneling into a Single Self-Assembled Quantum Dot.

Time-resolved resonance fluorescence (RF) is used to analyze electron tunneling between a single self-assembled quantum dot (QD) and an electron reservoir. In equilibrium, the RF intensity reflects the average electron occupation of the QD and exhibits a gate voltage dependence that is given by the Fermi distribution in the reservoir. In the time-resolved signal, however, we find that the relaxation rate for electron tunneling is, surprisingly, independent of the occupation in the charge reservoir-in contrast to results from all-electrical transport measurements. Using a master equation approach, which includes both the electron tunneling and the optical excitation or recombination, we are able to explain the experimental data by optical blocking, which also reduces the electron tunneling rate when the QD is occupied by an exciton.

Syndromic deafness mutations at Asn 14 differentially alter the open stability of Cx26 hemichannels.

Connexin 26 (Cx26) is a transmembrane protein that forms hexameric hemichannels that can function when unopposed or dock to form intercellular gap junction channels. Aberrantly functioning unopposed hemichannels are a common feature of syndromic deafness associated with mutations in Cx26. In this study, we examine two different mutations at the same position in the N-terminal domain of Cx26, N14K and N14Y, which have been reported to produce different phenotypes in patients. We find that both N14K and N14Y, when expressed alone or together with wild-type (WT) Cx26, result in functional hemichannels with widely disparate functional properties. N14K currents are robust, whereas N14Y currents are small. The two mutants also exhibit opposite shifts in voltage-dependent loop gating, such that activation of N14K and N14Y is shifted in the hyperpolarizing and depolarizing directions, respectively. Deactivation kinetics suggests that N14K stabilizes and N14Y destabilizes the open state. Single N14K hemichannel recordings in low extracellular Ca(2+) show no evidence of stable closing transitions associated with loop gating, and N14K hemichannels are insensitive to pH. Together, these properties cause N14K hemichannels to be particularly refractory to closing. Although we find that the unitary conductance of N14K is indistinguishable from WT Cx26, mutagenesis and substituted cysteine accessibility studies suggest that the N14 residue is exposed to the pore and that the differential properties of N14K and N14Y hemichannels likely result from altered electrostatic interactions between the N terminus and the cytoplasmic extension of TM2 in the adjacent subunit. The combined effects that we observe on loop gating and pH regulation may explain the unusual buccal cutaneous manifestations in patients carrying the N14K mutation. Our work also provides new considerations regarding the underlying molecular mechanism of loop gating, which controls hemichannel opening in the plasma membrane.

Molecular interaction of δ-conopeptide EVIA with voltage-gated Na+ channels

BackgroundFor a large number of conopeptides basic knowledge related to structure-activity relationships is unavailable although such information is indispensable with respect to drug development and their use as drug leads. MethodsA combined experimental and theoretical approach employing electrophysiology and molecular modeling was applied for identifying the conopeptide δ-EVIA binding site at voltage-gated Na+ channels and to gain insight into the toxin's mode of action. ResultsConopeptide δ-EVIA was synthesized and its structure was re-determined by NMR spectroscopy for molecular docking studies. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation studies were performed involving the domain IV voltage sensor in a resting conformation and part of the domain I S5 transmembrane segment. Molecular modeling was stimulated by functional studies, which demonstrated the importance of domains I and IV of the neuronal NaV1.7 channel for toxin action. Conclusionsδ-EVIA shares its binding epitope with other voltage-sensor toxins, such as the conotoxin δ-SVIE and various scorpion α-toxins. In contrast to previous in silico toxin binding studies, we present here in silico binding studies of a voltage-sensor toxin including the entire toxin binding site comprising the resting domain IV voltage sensor and S5 of domain I. General significanceThe prototypical voltage-sensor toxin δ-EVIA is suited for the elucidation of its binding epitope; in-depth analysis of its interaction with the channel target yields information on the mode of action and might also help to unravel the mechanism of voltage-dependent channel gating and coupling of activation and inactivation.

Voltage-Gated Na+ Channels: Not Just for Conduction.

Voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs), composed of a pore-forming α subunit and up to two associated β subunits, are critical for the initiation of the action potential (AP) in excitable tissues. Building on the monumental discovery and description of sodium current in 1952, intrepid researchers described the voltage-dependent gating mechanism, selectivity of the channel, and general structure of the VGSC channel. Recently, crystal structures of bacterial VGSC α subunits have confirmed many of these studies and provided new insights into VGSC function. VGSC β subunits, first cloned in 1992, modulate sodium current but also have nonconducting roles as cell-adhesion molecules and function in neurite outgrowth and neuronal pathfinding. Mutations in VGSC α and β genes are associated with diseases caused by dysfunction of excitable tissues such as epilepsy. Because of the multigenic and drug-resistant nature of some of these diseases, induced pluripotent stem cells and other novel approaches are being used to screen for new drugs and further understand how mutations in VGSC genes contribute to pathophysiology.

Interplay between Coulomb blockade and Josephson effect in a topological superconductor–quantum dot device

We study the behavior of a topological Josephson junction in which two topological superconductors are coupled through a quantum dot. We focus on the case with the bulk superconducting gap being the largest energy scale. Two parameter regimes are investigated: a weak tunneling between the dot and the superconductors, with the dot near its charge degeneracy point, and a strong tunneling regime in which the transmission between the dot and the superconductors is nearly perfect. We show that in the former situation, the Andreev spectrum for each sector with fixed fermion parity consists of only two levels, which gives rise to the nontrivial current-phase relation. Moreover, we study the Rabi oscillation between the two levels and indicates that the corresponding frequency is a $4\pi$-periodic function of the phase difference between the two superconductors, which is immune to the quasiparticle poisoning. In the latter case, we find that the Coulomb charging energy enhances the effect of backscattering at the interfaces between the dot and the superconductors. Both the temperature and the gate-voltage dependence of the critical Josephson current are examined.