380 research outputs found
Interference and Interaction in Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes
We report equilibrium electric resistance R and tunneling spectroscopy dI/dV
measurements obtained on single multiwall nanotubes contacted by four metallic
Au fingers from above. At low temperature quantum interference phenomena
dominate the magnetoresistance. The phase-coherence and elastic-scattering
lengths are deduced. Because the latter is of order of the circumference of the
nanotubes, transport is quasi-ballistic. This result is supported by a dI/dV
spectrum which is in good agreement with the density-of-states (DOS) due to the
one-dimensional subbands expected for a perfect single-wall tube. As a function
of temperature T the resistance increases on decreasing T and saturates at
approx. 1-10 K for all measured nanotubes. R(T) cannot be related to the
energy-dependent DOS of graphene but is mainly caused by interaction and
interference effects. On a relatively small voltage scale of order 10 meV, a
pseudogap is observed in dI/dV which agrees with Luttinger-Liquid theories for
nanotubes. Because we have used quantum diffusion based on Fermi-Liquid as well
as Luttinger-Liquid theory in trying to understand our results, a large
fraction of this paper is devoted to a careful discussion of all our results.Comment: 14 pages (twocolumn), 8 figure
Beyond the Linearity of Current-Voltage Characteristics in Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes
We present local and non-local electron transport measurements on individual
multi-wall nanotubes for bias voltage between 0 and about 4 V. Local
current-voltage characteristics are quite linear. In contrast, non-local
measurements are highly non-linear; the differential non-local conductance can
even become negative in the high-bias regime. We discuss the relationship
between these results and transport parameters such as the elastic length, the
number of current carrying shells, and the number of conducting modes.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Multi-wall carbon nanotubes as quantum dots
We have measured the differential conductance dI/dV of individual multi-wall
carbon nanotubes (MWNT) of different lengths. A cross-over from wire-like (long
tubes) to dot-like (short tubes) behavior is observed. dI/dV is dominated by
random conductance fluctuations (UCF) in long MWNT devices (L=2...7 ),
while Coulomb blockade and energy level quantization are observed in short ones
(L=300 nm). The electron levels of short MWNT dots are nearly four-fold
degenerate (including spin) and their evolution in magnetic field (Zeeman
splitting) agrees with a g-factor of 2. In zero magnetic field the sequential
filling of states evolves with spin S according to S=0 -> 1/2 -> 0... In
addition, a Kondo enhancement of the conductance is observed when the number of
electrons on the tube is odd.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Ultrasensitive Displacement Noise Measurement of Carbon Nanotube Mechanical Resonators
Mechanical resonators based on a single carbon nanotube are exceptional
sensors of mass and force. The force sensitivity in these ultra-light
resonators is often limited by the noise in the detection of the vibrations.
Here, we report on an ultra-sensitive scheme based on a RLC resonator and a
low-temperature amplifier to detect nanotube vibrations. We also show a new
fabrication process of electromechanical nanotube resonators to reduce the
separation between the suspended nanotube and the gate electrode down to ~nm. These advances in detection and fabrication allow us to reach
displacement sensitivity. Thermal
vibrations cooled cryogenically at 300~mK are detected with a signal-to-noise
ratio as high as 17~dB. We demonstrate
force sensitivity, which is the best force sensitivity achieved thus far with a
mechanical resonator. Our work is an important step towards imaging individual
nuclear spins and studying the coupling between mechanical vibrations and
electrons in different quantum electron transport regimes.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Geometrical Dependence of High-Bias Current in Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes
We have studied the high-bias transport properties of the different shells
that constitute a multiwalled carbon nanotube. The current is shown to be
reduced as the shell diameter is decreased or the length is increased. We
assign this geometrical dependence to the competition between electron-phonon
scattering process and Zener tunneling.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Van Hove Singularities in disordered multichannel quantum wires and nanotubes
We present a theory for the van Hove singularity (VHS) in the tunneling
density of states (TDOS) of disordered multichannel quantum wires, in
particular multi-wall carbon nanotubes. We assume close-by gates which screen
off electron-electron interactions. Diagrammatic perturbation theory within a
non-crossing approximation yields analytical expressions governing the
disorder-induced broadening and shift of VHS's as new subbands are opened. This
problem is nontrivial because the (lowest-order) Born approximation breaks down
close to the VHS. Interestingly, compared to the bulk case, the boundary TDOS
shows drastically altered VHS, even in the clean limit.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, accepted with revisions in PR
Mechanical detection of carbon nanotube resonator vibrations
Bending-mode vibrations of carbon nanotube resonator devices were
mechanically detected in air at atmospheric pressure by means of a novel
scanning force microscopy method. The fundamental and higher order bending
eigenmodes were imaged at up to 3.1GHz with sub-nanometer resolution in
vibration amplitude. The resonance frequency and the eigenmode shape of
multi-wall nanotubes are consistent with the elastic beam theory for a doubly
clamped beam. For single-wall nanotubes, however, resonance frequencies are
significantly shifted, which is attributed to fabrication generating, for
example, slack. The effect of slack is studied by pulling down the tube with
the tip, which drastically reduces the resonance frequency
Determination of the Intershell Conductance in Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes
We report on the intershell electron transport in multiwalled carbon
nanotubes (MWNT). To do this, local and nonlocal four-point measurements are
used to study the current path through the different shells of a MWNT. For
short electrode separations 1 m the current mainly flows
through the two outer shells, described by a resistive transmission line with
an intershell conductance per length of ~(10 k\Omega)^{-1}/m. The
intershell transport is tunnel-type and the transmission is consistent with the
estimate based on the overlap between -orbitals of neighboring shells.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Electron scattering in multi-wall carbon-nanotubes
We analyze two scattering mechanisms that might cause intrinsic electronic
resistivity in multi-wall carbon nanotubes: scattering by dopant impurities,
and scattering by inter-tube electron-electron interaction. We find that for
typically doped multi-wall tubes backward scattering at dopants is by far the
dominating effect.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Zero-bias anomaly in disordered wires
We calculate the low-energy tunneling density of states of
an -channel disordered wire, taking into account the electron-electron
interaction non-perturbatively. The finite scattering rate results in
a crossover from the Luttinger liquid behavior at higher energies,
, to the exponential dependence at low energies, where
. At finite temperature , the tunneling
density of states depends on the energy through the dimensionless variable
. At the Fermi level .Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur
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