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A new concept of atomic force microscope (AFM) oscillating probes using electrostatic excitation and piezoresistive detection is presented. The probe is characterized by electrical methods in vacuum and by mechanical methods in air. A frequency-mixing measurement technique is developed to reduce the parasitic signal floor. The probe resonance frequencies are in the 1 MHz range and the quality factor is measured about 53 000 in vacuum and 3000 in air. The ring probe is mounted onto a commercial AFM set-up and topographic images of patterned sample surfaces are obtained. The force resolution deduced from the measurements is about 10 pN Hz-0.5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a comparative study of Ti/Au, Ti/Pd/Au, Ti/Pt/Au, Mo/Au, Mo/Pt/Au, and Pd/Mo/Pt/Au Ohmic contacts to both n- and p-In0.65Ga0.35Sb. For In0.65Ga0.35Sb:Te doped to 2×1018 cm-3, specific contact resistivities ρc below 2×10-6 Ω cm2 were demonstrated. Lower ρc in the 10-7 Ω cm2 range were also achieved for In0.65Ga0.35Sb:C doped to 4.5×1019 cm-3. The influence of surface preparation has been investigated on unannealed Mo/Pt/Au contacts and further improvements of the specific contact resistivities to as low as (8.7±0.7)×10-7 and (2.9±1.7)×10-8 Ω cm2 have been achieved for n- and p-InGaSb, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-aligned \0.55\times \3.5\ \mu \m^2 emitter InP/GaAsSb/InP double heterojunction bipolar transistors demonstrating an ft of 310 GHz and an f \max of 480 GHz are reported. Common–emitter current gain of 24, together with a breakdown voltage of 4.6 V, is measured. The devices were fabricated with a triple-mesa process and easily fabricated with a new base isolation \mu-airbridge design which, moreover, significantly reduced the base–collector capacitance CBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, we report on high-speed InAlAsSb/InGaSb/InAlAsSb double heterojunction bipolar Transistors (HBTs) (DHBT) fabricated using a conventional triple-mesa process. Current gain cutoff frequencies fT of 52 GHz and maximum oscillation frequencies fMAX of 48 GHz were extracted from measured scattering parameters for devices with 1 x 15 µ² emitter size. To the best of our knowledge, these results are the first RF performance ever reported, and they demonstrate the feasibility and potential of InGaSb-based HBT for high-speed electronics applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waveguide based optical combiners for augmented reality (AR) glasses are integrating several surface relief gratings (SRG) whose pitch sizes can be as small as 200 nm for the blue wavelength. All SRG components exploit the first diffraction order to couple in and out or to deviate the light. We present SRG using higher diffraction orders featuring over-wavelength pitch sizes. Our gratings use the edge wave (EW) diffraction phenomenon to steer light in the preferred far field direction.

Atomic force spectroscopy and microscopy are invaluable tools to characterize nanostructures and biological systems. State-of-the-art experiments use resonant driving of mechanical probes, whose frequency reaches MHz in the fastest commercial instruments where cantilevers are driven at nanometer amplitude. Stiffer probes oscillating at tens of picometers provide a better access to short-range interactions, yielding images of molecular bonds, but they are little amenable to high-speed operation. Next-generation investigations demand combining very high frequency (>100 MHz) with deep sub-nanometer oscillation amplitude, in order to access faster (below microsecond) phenomena with molecular resolution. Here we introduce a resonating optomechanical atomic force probe operated fully optically at a frequency of 117 MHz, two decades above cantilevers, with a Brownian motion amplitude four orders below. Based on Silicon-On-Insulator technology, the very high frequency probe demonstrates single-pixel sensing of contact and non-contact interactions with sub-picometer amplitude, breaking open current limitations for faster and finer force spectroscopy.

In order to effectively increase the resonance frequency and the quality factor of atomic force microscope (AFM) probes, a novel oscillating probe based on a dog-bone shaped MEMS resonator was conceived, designed, fabricated and evaluated. The novel probe with 400 μm in length, 100 μm in width and 5 μm in thickness was enabled to feature MHz resonance frequencies with integrated thermal actuation and piezoresistive detection. Standard silicon micromachining was employed. Both electrical and optical measurements were carried out in air. The resonance frequency and the quality factor of the novel probe were measured to be 5.4 MHz and 4000 respectively, which are much higher than those (about several hundreds of kHz) of commonly used cantilever probes. The probe was mounted onto a commercial AFM set-up through a dedicated probe-holder and circuit board. Topographic images of patterned resist samples were obtained. It is expected that the resonance frequency and the measurement bandwidth of such probes will be further increased by a proper downscaling, thus leading to a significant increase in the scanning speed capability of AFM instruments.

This study was conducted to determine the frequency and pattern of antimicrobial susceptibility of Shigella sonnei, the predominant species causing shigellosis in Belgium. Between 1990 and 2007, a total of 7,307 strains, mainly (98.2%) isolated from stools, were diagnosed by peripheral laboratories before being confirmed as Shigella strains by serotyping by the National Reference Center of Salmonella and Shigella. A significant increase in resistances to tetracycline, streptomycin, trimethoprim, sulfonamides, and cotrimoxazole (i.e., trimethoprim in combination with sulfonamides) was observed during this period. Since 1998, resistance to nalidixic acid also increased to reach a peak (12.8%) of resistant isolates in 2004. Concomitantly, multidrug resistance (MDR) in this species emerged in 2007, with 82% of total isolates being MDR. However, during this 18-year period, all isolates remained fully susceptible to ciprofloxacin and gentamicin. The work includes the molecular characterization of mechanisms of resistance to ampicillin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, and cotrimoxazole and class 1 and class 2 integrons. S. sonnei acquired antimicrobial resistance to traditional antibiotics (ampicillin and tetracycline) by horizontal gene transfer, while the genetic stability of transposons was responsible for a high (89%) proportion of resistance to a commonly prescribed antibiotic (cotrimoxazole). Therefore, cotrimoxazole should no longer be considered appropriate as empirical therapy for treatment of shigellosis in Belgium when antibiotics are indicated. Rates of resistance to nalidixic acid should also be attentively monitored to detect any shift in fluoroquinolone resistance, because it represents the first line among antibiotics used in the treatment of shigellosis.

Background: Trace element external quality assessment schemes monitor laboratory performance and provide a stimulus for improvement in accuracy. However, monitoring of participant performance varies according to the scheme and can lead to conflicting conclusions., Methods: Quality specifications based on biological intra- and interindividual variability were calculated and compared to those currently used by various trace element external quality assessment schemes for plasma or serum copper, zinc, and selenium concentrations. For this purpose, we evaluated results reported by participating laboratories in different schemes, at key concentrations, using z scores., Results: Minimal quality specifications developed from the biological intra- and interindividual variability were, for Cu, +/-0.84 micromol/L or 12% of the assigned target concentration, whichever is greater; for Zn, +/-1.20 micromol/L or 15% of the assigned target concentration, whichever is greater; and for Se, +/-0.072 micromol/L or 12% of the assigned target concentration, whichever is greater. Reported performance of the participating laboratories depended on analyte, concentration, and the selected quality specification. In addition, the most commonly used methods for the determination of Cu, Zn, and Se may give different results., Conclusions: The proposed minimal quality specifications based on biological variation are generally slightly less stringent than those currently in use, although they do not drastically change the performance evaluation in the different schemes. These specifications are a first step in the harmonization of practices among the schemes and remain to be evaluated.

Antibiotic treatment is not required in cases of Salmonella enterica gastroenteritis but is essential in cases of enteric fever or invasive salmonellosis or in immunocompromised patients. Although fluoroquinolones and extended-spectrum cephalosporins are the drugs of choice to treat invasive Salmonella, resistance to these antibiotics is increasing worldwide. During the period 2000 to 2003, 90 Salmonella enterica serovar Virchow poultry and poultry product isolates and 11 serovar Virchow human isolates were found to produce an extended-spectrum beta-lactamase, CTX-M-2, concomitantly with a TEM-1 beta-lactamase. The bla(CTX-M-2) gene was located on a large conjugative plasmid (>100 kb). Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis indicated a clonal relationship between the poultry and human isolates. All these isolates displayed additional resistance to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and tetracycline as well as a reduced susceptibility to ciprofloxacin (MICs of between 0.5 and 1 mug/ml). CTX-M-2-producing Salmonella with a reduced susceptibility to fluoroquinolones constitutes a major concern, since such strains could disseminate on a large scale and jeopardize classical antibiotic therapy in immunocompromised patients.