29,283 research outputs found
Nonlinear electromagnetic response of graphene: Frequency multiplication and the self-consistent-field effects
Graphene is a recently discovered carbon based material with unique physical
properties. This is a monolayer of graphite, and the two-dimensional electrons
and holes in it are described by the effective Dirac equation with a vanishing
effective mass. As a consequence, electromagnetic response of graphene is
predicted to be strongly non-linear. We develop a quasi-classical kinetic
theory of the non-linear electromagnetic response of graphene, taking into
account the self-consistent-field effects. Response of the system to both
harmonic and pulse excitation is considered. The frequency multiplication
effect, resulting from the non-linearity of the electromagnetic response, is
studied under realistic experimental conditions. The frequency up-conversion
efficiency is analysed as a function of the applied electric field and
parameters of the samples. Possible applications of graphene in terahertz
electronics are discussed.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, invited paper written for a special issue of
JPCM "Terahertz emitters
Probing the superconducting condensate on a nanometer scale
Superconductivity is a rare example of a quantum system in which the
wavefunction has a macroscopic quantum effect, due to the unique condensate of
electron pairs. The amplitude of the wavefunction is directly related to the
pair density, but both amplitude and phase enter the Josephson current : the
coherent tunneling of pairs between superconductors. Very sensitive devices
exploit the superconducting state, however properties of the {\it condensate}
on the {\it local scale} are largely unknown, for instance, in unconventional
high-T cuprate, multiple gap, and gapless superconductors.
The technique of choice would be Josephson STS, based on Scanning Tunneling
Spectroscopy (STS), where the condensate is {\it directly} probed by measuring
the local Josephson current (JC) between a superconducting tip and sample.
However, Josephson STS is an experimental challenge since it requires stable
superconducting tips, and tunneling conditions close to atomic contact. We
demonstrate how these difficulties can be overcome and present the first
spatial mapping of the JC on the nanometer scale. The case of an MgB film,
subject to a normal magnetic field, is considered.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Cu_{2}O as nonmagnetic semiconductor for spin transport in crystalline oxide electronics
We probe spin transport in Cu_{2}O by measuring spin valve effect in
La_{0.7}Sr_{0.3}MnO_{3}/Cu_{2}O/Co and
La_{0.7}Sr_{0.3}MnO_{3}/Cu_{2}O/La_{0.7}Sr_{0.3}MnO_{3} epitaxial
heterostructures. In La_{0.7}Sr_{0.3}MnO_{3}/Cu_{2}O/Co systems we find that a
fraction of out-of-equilibrium spin polarized carrier actually travel across
the Cu_{2}O layer up to distances of almost 100 nm at low temperature. The
corresponding spin diffusion length dspin is estimated around 40 nm.
Furthermore, we find that the insertion of a SrTiO_{3} tunneling barrier does
not improve spin injection, likely due to the matching of resistances at the
interfaces. Our result on dspin may be likely improved, both in terms of
Cu_{2}O crystalline quality and sub-micrometric morphology and in terms of
device geometry, indicating that Cu_{2}O is a potential material for efficient
spin transport in devices based on crystalline oxides.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figure
Charge transfer through single molecule contacts: How reliable are rate descriptions?
The trend to fabricate electrical circuits on nanoscale dimensions has led to
impressive progress in the field of molecular electronics in the last decade. A
theoretical description of molecular contacts as the building blocks of future
devices is challenging though as it has to combine properties of Fermi liquids
in the leads with charge and phonon degrees of freedom on the molecule. Apart
from ab initio schemes for specific set-ups, generic models reveal
characteristics of transport processes. Particularly appealing are descriptions
based on transfer rates successfully used in other contexts such as mesoscopic
physics and intramolecular electron transfer. However, a detailed analysis of
this scheme in comparison with numerically exact data is elusive yet.
It turns out that a formulation in terms of transfer rates provides a
quantitatively accurate description even in domains of parameter space where in
a strict sense it is expected to fail, e.g. for lower temperatures. Typically,
intramolecular phonons are distributed according to a voltage driven steady
state that can only roughly be captured by a thermal distribution with an
effective elevated temperature (heating). An extension of a master equation for
the charge-phonon complex to include effectively the impact of off-diagonal
elements of the reduced density matrix provides very accurate data even for
stronger electron-phonon coupling.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure
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