Characterization of Mechanical Oscillations in Bismuth Selenide Nanowires at Low Temperatures.

A single transistor preamplifier circuit was designed to facilitate electrical detection of mechanical oscillations in nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMSs) at low temperatures. The amplifier was integrated in the close vicinity of the nanowire inside the cryostat to minimize cabling load and interference. The function of the circuit was impedance conversion for current flow measurements in NEMSs with a high internal resistance.

Graphene Hybrid Metasurfaces for Mid-Infrared Molecular Sensors.

We integrated graphene with asymmetric metal metasurfaces and optimised the geometry dependent photoresponse towards optoelectronic molecular sensor devices. Through careful tuning and characterisation, combining finite-difference time-domain simulations, electron-beam lithography-based nanofabrication, and micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, we achieved precise control over the mid-infrared peak response wavelengths, transmittance, and reflectance. Our methods enabled simple, reproducible and targeted mid-infrared molecular sensing over a wide range of geometrical parameters.

Time-Resolved FDTD and Experimental FTIR Study of Gold Micropatch Arrays for Wavelength-Selective Mid-Infrared Optical Coupling.

Infrared radiation reflection and transmission of a single layer of gold micropatch two-dimensional arrays, of patch length ∼1.0 μm and width ∼0.2 μm, have been carefully studied by a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).

Quantum Hall effect and quantum point contact in bilayer-patched epitaxial graphene.

We study an epitaxial graphene monolayer with bilayer inclusions via magnetotransport measurements and scanning gate microscopy at low temperatures. We find that bilayer inclusions can be metallic or insulating depending on the initial and gated carrier density. The metallic bilayers act as equipotential shorts for edge currents, while closely spaced insulating bilayers guide the flow of electrons in the monolayer constriction, which was locally gated using a scanning gate probe.

Express optical analysis of epitaxial graphene on SiC: impact of morphology on quantum transport.

We show that inspection with an optical microscope allows surprisingly simple and accurate identification of single and multilayer graphene domains in epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide (SiC/G) and is informative about nanoscopic details of the SiC topography, making it ideal for rapid and noninvasive quality control of as-grown SiC/G. As an illustration of the power of the method, we apply it to demonstrate the correlations between graphene morphology and its electronic properties by quantum magneto-transport.

Assessing the validity of blood-based gene expression profiles for the classification of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: a preliminary report.

Recent advances have facilitated the use of blood-derived RNA to conduct genomic analyses of human diseases. This emerging technology represents a rigorous and convenient alternative to traditional tissue biopsy-derived RNA, as it allows for larger sample sizes, better standardization of technical procedures, and the ability to non-invasively profile human subjects. In the present pilot study, we have collected RNA from blood of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (BPD), as well as normal control subjects.