6,300 research outputs found
Wide energy-window view on the density of states and hole mobility of poly(p-phenylene vinylene)
Using an electrochemically gated transistor, we achieved controlled and
reversible doping of poly(p-phenylene vinylene) in a large concentration range.
Our data open a wide energy-window view on the density of states (DOS) and
show, for the first time, that the core of the DOS function is Gaussian, while
the low-energy tail has a more complex structure. The hole mobility increases
by more than four orders of magnitude when the electrochemical potential is
scanned through the DOS.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Reduction of Coxiella burnetii prevalence by vaccination of goats and sheep, the Netherlands
Recently, the number of human Q fever cases in the Netherlands increased dramatically. In response to this increase, dairy goats and dairy sheep were vaccinated against Coxiella burnetii. All pregnant dairy goats and dairy sheep in herds positive for Q fever were culled. We identified the effect of vaccination on bacterial shedding by small ruminants. On the day of culling, samples of uterine fluid, vaginal mucus, and milk were obtained from 957 pregnant animals in 13 herds. Prevalence and bacterial load were reduced in vaccinated animals compared with unvaccinated animals. These effects were most pronounced in animals during their first pregnancy. Results indicate that vaccination may reduce bacterial load in the environment and human exposure to C. burnetii
Superconductivity in a Molecular Metal Cluster Compound
Compelling evidence for band-type conductivity and even bulk
superconductivity below K has been found in
Ga-NMR experiments in crystalline ordered, giant Ga
cluster-compounds. This material appears to represent the first realization of
a theoretical model proposed by Friedel in 1992 for superconductivity in
ordered arrays of weakly coupled, identical metal nanoparticles.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Density of states and magnetoconductance of disordered Au point contacts
We report the first low temperature magnetotransport measurements on
electrochemically fabricated atomic scale gold nanojunctions. As , the
junctions exhibit nonperturbatively large zero bias anomalies (ZBAs) in their
differential conductance. We consider several explanations and find that the
ZBAs are consistent with a reduced local density of states (LDOS) in the
disordered metal. We suggest that this is a result of Coulomb interactions in a
granular metal with moderate intergrain coupling. Magnetoconductance of atomic
scale junctions also differs significantly from that of less geometrically
constrained devices, and supports this explanation.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures. Accepted to PRB as Brief Repor
The metallic state in disordered quasi-one-dimensional conductors
The unusual metallic state in conjugated polymers and single-walled carbon
nanotubes is studied by dielectric spectroscopy (8--600 GHz). We have found an
intriguing correlation between scattering time and plasma frequency. This
relation excludes percolation models of the metallic state. Instead, the
carrier dynamics can be understood in terms of the low density of delocalized
states around the Fermi level, which arises from the competion between
disorder-induced localization and interchain-interactions-induced
delocalization.Comment: 4 pages including 4 figure
Evidence for saturation of channel transmission from conductance fluctuations in atomic-size point contacts
The conductance of atomic size contacts has a small, random, voltage
dependent component analogous to conductance fluctuations observed in diffusive
wires (UCF). A new effect is observed in gold contacts, consisting of a marked
suppression of these fluctuations when the conductance of the contact is close
to integer multiples of the conductance quantum. Using a model based on the
Landauer-Buettiker formalism we interpret this effect as evidence that the
conductance tends to be built up from fully transmitted (i.e., saturated)
channels plus a single, which is partially transmitted.Comment: An error in Eq.(2) was corrected, where a square root was added to
the factor (1-cos(gamma)). This results in a revised estimate for the mean
free path of 5 nm, which is now fully consistent with the estimates from the
series resistance and the thermopowe
Shot noise suppression at room temperature in atomic-scale Au junctions
Shot noise encodes additional information not directly inferable from simple
electronic transport measurements. Previous measurements in atomic-scale metal
junctions at cryogenic temperatures have shown suppression of the shot noise at
particular conductance values. This suppression demonstrates that transport in
these structures proceeds via discrete quantum channels. Using a high frequency
technique, we simultaneously acquire noise data and conductance histograms in
Au junctions at room temperature and ambient conditions. We observe noise
suppression at up to three conductance quanta, with possible indications of
current-induced local heating and noise in the contact region at high
biases. These measurements demonstrate the quantum character of transport at
room temperature at the atomic scale. This technique provides an additional
tool for studying dissipation and correlations in nanodevices.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures + supporting information (6 pages, 6 figures
Measurement of the conductance of a hydrogen molecule
Recent years have shown steady progress in research towards molecular
electronics [1,2], where molecules have been investigated as switches [3-5],
diodes [6], and electronic mixers [7]. In much of the previous work a Scanning
Tunnelling Microscope was employed to address an individual molecule. As this
arrangement does not provide long-term stability, more recently
metal-molecule-metal links have been made using break junction devices [8-10].
However, it has been difficult to establish unambiguously that a single
molecule forms the contact [11]. Here, we show that a single H2 molecule can
form a stable bridge between Pt electrodes. In contrast to results for other
organic molecules, the bridge has a nearly perfect conductance of one quantum
unit, carried by a single channel. The H2-bridge provides a simple test system
and a fundamental step towards understanding transport properties of
single-molecule devices.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Conduction channels of superconducting quantum point contacts
Atomic quantum point contacts accommodate a small number of conduction
channels. Their number N and transmission coefficients {T_n} can be determined
by analyzing the subgap structure due to multiple Andreev reflections in the
current-voltage (IV) characteristics in the superconducting state. With the
help of mechanically controllable break-junctions we have produced Al contacts
consisting of a small number of atoms. In the smallest stable contacts, usually
three channels contribute to the transport. We show here that the channel
ensemble {T_n} of few atom contacts remains unchanged up to temperatures and
magnetic fields approaching the critical temperature and the critical field,
respectively, giving experimental evidence for the prediction that the
conduction channels are the same in the normal and in the superconducting
state.Comment: 8 pages, 5 .eps figures. To be published in Physica B 22
Testbeam and Laboratory Characterization of CMS 3D Pixel Sensors
The pixel detector is the innermost tracking device in CMS, reconstructing
interaction vertices and charged particle trajectories. The sensors located in
the innermost layers of the pixel detector must be upgraded for the ten-fold
increase in luminosity expected with the High- Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) phase.
As a possible replacement for planar sensors, 3D silicon technology is under
consideration due to its good performance after high radiation fluence. In this
paper, we report on pre- and post- irradiation measurements for CMS 3D pixel
sensors with different electrode configurations. The effects of irradiation on
electrical properties, charge collection efficiency, and position resolution of
3D sensors are discussed. Measurements of various test structures for
monitoring the fabrication process and studying the bulk and surface
properties, such as MOS capacitors, planar and gate-controlled diodes are also
presented.Comment: 14 page
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