Experimental study of temperature sensitivity of carrier lifetime and recombination coefficients in GaInNAs SQW lasers
This paper deals with the characterization of the differential carrier lifetime and the calculation of the monomolecular, radiative and non-radiative recombination coefficients and their temperature dependence as an evidence of the excellent temperature performance of this material system. The device characterized is a 1.25 /spl mu/m GaInNAs laser structure grown on a GaAs substrate. The active region consists of a single 6 nm thick single quantum well. Light current (L-I) characteristics performed over a temperature range of 20/spl deg/C to 80/spl deg/C, show a characteristic temperature of 50 K. Similar than in the case of commercial InGaAs. Good temperature performance of optical gain using Hakki-Paoli method, lasing wavelength and efficiency will also be presented and compared with modelling work.
Modeling Dilute Nitride 1.3 μm Quantum Well Lasers: Incorporation of N Compositional Fluctuations
Compositional fluctuations of N in Ga0.68In0.32NxAs1-x result in quantum dot (QD)-like fluctuations in the conduction band edge (CBE). The influence of these compositional fluctuations on the performance of Ga 0.68In0.32 NxAs1-x /GaAs quantum well (QW) lasers has been studied using a rate equation approach. Adding N into InGaAs has been observed to reduce the photon luminescence (PL) intensity, broaden the line width, and increase the laser threshold. For low N composition (N ≈ 1%), due to the small density of QD-like fluctuations, the electron density within the fluctuations is below the lasing threshold and they act as defect-related nonradiative centers. However, as N increases (N ≥ 2%), the density of the QD-like fluctuations increases allowing lasing to occur from the QD-like fluctuations. The dynamics of the electrons and photons in both the 2-D QW and the QD-like fluctuations are evaluated. In addition, by adding the gain of the QD-like fluctuations and the QW confined level gain, a broad-band material gain results can be exploited in tuneable lasers.
A single amino acid substitution in elongation factor Tu disrupts interaction between the ternary complex and the ribosome
Elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu).GTP has the primary function of promoting the efficient and correct interaction of aminoacyl-tRNA with the ribosome. Very little is known about the elements in EF-Tu involved in this interaction. We describe a mutant form of EF-Tu, isolated in Salmonella typhimurium, that causes a severe defect in the interaction of the ternary complex with the ribosome. The mutation causes the substitution of Val for Gly-280 in domain II of EF-Tu. The in vivo growth and translation phenotypes of strains harboring this mutation are indistinguishable from those of strains in which the same tuf gene is insertionally inactivated. Viable cells are not obtained when the other tuf gene is inactivated, showing that the mutant EF-Tu alone cannot support cell growth. We have confirmed, by partial protein sequencing, that the mutant EF-Tu is present in the cells. In vitro analysis of the natural mixture of wild-type and mutant EF-Tu allows us to identify the major defect of this mutant. Our data shows that the EF-Tu is homogeneous and competent with respect to guanine nucleotide binding and exchange, stimulation of nucleotide exchange by EF-Ts, and ternary complex formation with aminoacyl-tRNA. However various measures of translational efficiency show a significant reduction, which is associated with a defective interaction between the ribosome and the mutant EF-Tu.GTP.aminoacyl-tRNA complex. In addition, the antibiotic kirromycin, which blocks translation by binding EF-Tu on the ribosome, fails to do so with this mutant EF-Tu, although it does form a complex with EF-Tu. Our results suggest that this region of domain II in EF-Tu has an important function and influences the binding of the ternary complex to the codon-programmed ribosome during protein synthesis. Models involving either a direct or an indirect effect of the mutation are discussed.