scholarly journals Analysis of high field effects on the steady-state current-voltage response of semi-insulating 4H-SiC for photoconductive switch applications

2015 ◽  
Vol 118 (9) ◽  
pp. 095701 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Tiskumara ◽  
R. P. Joshi ◽  
D. Mauch ◽  
J. C. Dickens ◽  
A. A. Neuber
1969 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald Millecchia ◽  
Alexander Mauro

In the dark, the ventral photoreceptor of Limulus exhibits time-variant currents under voltage-clamp conditions; that is, if the membrane potential of the cell is clamped to a depolarized value there is an initial large outward current which slowly declines to a steady level. The current-voltage relation of the cell in the dark is nonlinear. The only ion tested which has any effect on the current-voltage relation is potassium; high potassium shifts the reversal potential towards zero and introduces a negative slope-conductance region. When the cell is illuminated under voltage-clamp conditions, an additional current, the light-induced current, flows across the cell membrane. The time course of this current mimics the time course of the light response (receptor potential) in the unclamped cell; namely, an initial transient phase is followed by a steady-state phase. The amplitude of the peak transient current can be as large as 60 times the amplitude of the steady-state current, while in the unclamped cell the amplitude of the peak transient voltage never exceeds 4 times the amplitude of the steady-state voltage. The current-voltage relations of the additional light-induced current obtained for different instants of time are also nonlinear, but differ from the current-voltage relations of the dark current. The ions tested which have the greatest effect on the light-induced current are sodium and calcium; low sodium decreases the current, while low calcium increases the current. The data strongly support the hypothesis that two systems of electric current exist in the membrane. Thus the total ionic current which flows in the membrane is accounted for as the sum of a dark current and a light-induced current.


1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 221-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Lüthi ◽  
Beat H. Gähwiler ◽  
Urs Gerber

Lüthi, Anita, Beat H. Gähwiler, and Urs Gerber. 1 S,3 R-ACPD induces a region of negative slope conductance in the steady-state current-voltage relationship of hippocampal pyramidal cells. J. Neurophysiol. 77: 221–228, 1997. Synaptic responses mediated by metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) display a marked voltage-dependent increase in amplitude when neurons are moderately depolarized beyond membrane potential. We have investigated the basis for this apparent nonlinear behavior by activatingmGluRs with 1 S,3 R-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylate(1 S,3 R-ACPD; 10 μM) in CA3 pyramidal cells from rat hippocampal slice cultures with the use of the single-electrode voltage-clamp technique. Under control conditions, cells depolarized from resting potential by 10–20 mV responded with delayed outwardly rectifying currents due to activation of voltage- and Ca2+-dependent K+ conductances. In contrast, in the continuous presence of 1 S,3 R-ACPD, small depolarizations (10–20 mV) induced a delayed inward current. The steady-state current-voltage relationship for this response displayed a region of negative slope conductance at potentials between −55 and −40 mV. The reversal potential of the corresponding 1 S,3 R-ACPD-sensitive tail currents (−93.0 ± 2.2 mV, mean ± SE) was close to the potassium reversal potential, consistent with an mGluR-mediated suppression of K+ current. When external K+ concentration was increased to 8 mM, there was a positive shift in reversal potential to −76.9 ± 5.1 mV. The depolarization-induced inward current in the presence of 1 S,3 R-ACPD was blocked by Ba2+ (1 mM). The response was not dependent on changes in intracellular Ca2+ concentration and was insensitive to bath-applied Cs+ (1 mM), ruling out a contribution of Ca2+-dependent currents or the inward rectifier I Q. Furthermore, the effect of 1 S,3 R-ACPD was not mimicked by inhibiting afterhyperpolarizing current and M current with low-Ca2+ saline (0.5 mM Ca2+, 10 mM Mg2+) containing 10 mM tetraethylammonium chloride. A comparison of the responses induced by 1 S,3 R-ACPD and N-methyl-d-aspartate showed that both induce an inward current with small depolarizations from resting potential but with different kinetics and Mg2+ sensitivity. These results indicate that the suppression of K+ currents in response to activation of mGluRs is markedly voltage dependent, increasing at depolarized potentials and decreasing at hyperpolarized potentials. The negative slope conductance at membrane voltages positive to resting potential may underlie the amplification of mGluR-mediated responses when the membrane potential approaches action potential threshold.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document