217 research outputs found
Absence of magnetically-induced fractional quantization in atomic contacts
Using the mechanically controlled break junction technique at low
temperatures and under cryogenic vacuum conditions we have studied atomic
contacts of several magnetic (Fe, Co and Ni) and non-magnetic (Pt) metals,
which recently were claimed to show fractional conductance quantization. In the
case of pure metals we see no quantization of the conductance nor
half-quantization, even when high magnetic fields are applied. On the other
hand, features in the conductance similar to (fractional) quantization are
observed when the contact is exposed to gas molecules. Furthermore, the absence
of fractional quantization when the contact is bridged by H_2 indicates the
current is never fully polarized for the metals studied here. Our results are
in agreement with recent model calculations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Detection of Interlayered Illite/Smectite by Means of XRD and Hyperspectral Techniques:Advantages and Disadvantages
Formation of a Metallic Contact: Jump to Contact Revisited
The transition from tunneling to metallic contact between two surfaces does
not always involve a jump, but can be smooth. We have observed that the
configuration and material composition of the electrodes before contact largely
determines the presence or absence of a jump. Moreover, when jumps are found
preferential values of conductance have been identified. Through combination of
experiments, molecular dynamics, and first-principles transport calculations
these conductance values are identified with atomic contacts of either
monomers, dimers or double-bond contacts.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Tuning the oriented deposition of gold nanorods on patterned substrates
The controlled patterning of anisotropic gold nanoparticles is of crucial importance for many applications related to their optical properties. In this paper, we report that gold nanorods prepared by a seed-mediated synthesis protocol (without any further functionalization) can be selectively deposited on hydrophilic parts of hydrophobic–hydrophilic contrast patterned substrates. We have seen that, when nanorods with lengths much smaller than the width of the hydrophilic stripe are used, they disperse on these stripes with random orientation and tunable uniform particle separation. However, for nanorods having lengths comparable to the width of the hydrophilic stripes, confinement-induced alignment occurs. We observe that different interactions governing the assembly forces can be modulated by controlling the concentration of assembling nanorods and the width of the hydrophilic stripes, leading to markedly different degrees of alignment. Our strategy can be replicated for other anisotropic nanoparticles to produce well-controlled patterning of these nanoentities on surfaces
Mechanical properties of Pt monatomic chains
The mechanical properties of platinum monatomic chains were investigated by
simultaneous measurement of an effective stiffness and the conductance using
our newly developed mechanically controllable break junction (MCBJ) technique
with a tuning fork as a force sensor. When stretching a monatomic contact
(two-atom chain), the stiffness and conductance increases at the early stage of
stretching and then decreases just before breaking, which is attributed to a
transition of the chain configuration and bond weakening. A statistical
analysis was made to investigate the mechanical properties of monatomic chains.
The average stiffness shows minima at the peak positions of the
length-histogram. From this result we conclude that the peaks in the
length-histogram are a measure of the number of atoms in the chains, and that
the chains break from a strained state. Additionally, we find that the smaller
the initial stiffness of the chain is, the longer the chain becomes. This shows
that softer chains can be stretched longer.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
Observation of a parity oscillation in the conductance of atomic wires
Using a scanning tunnel microscope or mechanically controlled break
junctions, atomic contacts of Au, Pt and Ir are pulled to form chains of atoms.
We have recorded traces of conductance during the pulling process and averaged
these for a large amount of contacts. An oscillatory evolution of conductance
is observed during the formation of the monoatomic chain suggesting a
dependence on even or odd numbers of atoms forming the chain. This behaviour is
not only present in the monovalent metal Au, as it has been previously
predicted, but is also found in the other metals which form chains suggesting
it to be a universal feature of atomic wires
Highly conductive molecular junctions based on direct binding of benzene to platinum electrodes
Highly conductive molecular junctions were formed by direct binding of
benzene molecules between two Pt electrodes. Measurements of conductance,
isotopic shift in inelastic spectroscopy and shot noise compared with
calculations provide indications for a stable molecular junction where the
benzene molecule is preserved intact and bonded to the Pt leads via carbon
atoms. The junction has a conductance comparable to that for metallic atomic
junctions (around 0.1-1 Go), where the conductance and the number of
transmission channels are controlled by the molecule's orientation at different
inter-electrode distances.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
In situ transmission electron microscope formation of a single-crystalline Bi film on an amorphous substrate
Article / Letter to editorLeids Instituut Onderzoek Natuurkund
Large tunable image-charge effects in single-molecule junctions
The characteristics of molecular electronic devices are critically determined
by metal-organic interfaces, which influence the arrangement of the orbital
levels that participate in charge transport. Studies on self-assembled
monolayers (SAMs) show (molecule-dependent) level shifts as well as
transport-gap renormalization, suggesting that polarization effects in the
metal substrate play a key role in the level alignment with respect to the
metal's Fermi energy. Here, we provide direct evidence for an electrode-induced
gap renormalization in single-molecule junctions. We study charge transport in
single porphyrin-type molecules using electrically gateable break junctions. In
this set-up, the position of the occupied and unoccupied levels can be followed
in situ and with simultaneous mechanical control. When increasing the electrode
separation, we observe a substantial increase in the transport gap with level
shifts as high as several hundreds of meV for displacements of a few \aa
ngstroms. Analysis of this large and tunable gap renormalization with
image-charge calculations based on atomic charges obtained from density
functional theory confirms and clarifies the dominant role of image-charge
effects in single-molecule junctions
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