Tailored nano-antennas for directional Raman studies of individual carbon nanotubes

We exploit the near field enhancement of nano-antennas to investigate the Raman spectra of otherwise not optically detectable carbon nanotubes (CNTs). We demonstrate that a top-down fabrication approach is particularly promising when applied to CNTs, owing to the sharp dependence of the scattered intensity on the angle between incident light polarization and CNT axis. In contrast to tip enhancement techniques, our method enables us to control the light polarization in the sample plane, locally amplifying and rotating the incident field and hence optimizing the Raman signal. Such promising features are confirmed by numerical simulations presented here. The relative ease of fabrication and alignment makes this technique suitable for the realization of integrated devices that combine scanning probe, optical, and transport characterization

Transport across a carbon nanotube quantum dot contacted with ferromagnetic leads: experiment and non-perturbative modeling

We present measurements of tunneling magneto-resistance (TMR) in single-wall carbon nanotubes attached to ferromagnetic contacts in the Coulomb blockade regime. Strong variations of the TMR with gate voltage over a range of four conductance resonances, including a peculiar double-dip signature, are observed. The data is compared to calculations in the "dressed second order" (DSO) framework. In this non-perturbative theory, conductance peak positions and linewidths are affected by charge fluctuations incorporating the properties of the carbon nanotube quantum dot and the ferromagnetic leads. The theory is able to qualitatively reproduce the experimental data.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figure

Quantum Transport of Particles and Entropy

A unified view on macroscopic thermodynamics and quantum transport is presented. Thermodynamic processes with an exchange of energy between two systems necessarily involve the flow of other balancable quantities. These flows are first analyzed using a simple drift-diffusion model, which includes the thermoelectric effects, and connects the various transport coefficients to certain thermodynamic susceptibilities and a diffusion coefficient. In the second part of the paper, the connection between macroscopic thermodynamics and quantum statistics is discussed. It is proposed to employ not particles, but elementary Fermi- or Bose-systems as the elementary building blocks of ideal quantum gases. In this way, the transport not only of particles but also of entropy can be derived in a concise way, and is illustrated both for ballistic quantum wires, and for diffusive conductors. In particular, the quantum interference of entropy flow is in close correspondence to that of electric current

Identification of excitons, trions and biexcitons in single-layer WS2

Single-layer WS$_2$ is a direct-gap semiconductor showing strong excitonic photoluminescence features in the visible spectral range. Here, we present temperature-dependent photoluminescence measurements on mechanically exfoliated single-layer WS$_2$, revealing the existence of neutral and charged excitons at low temperatures as well as at room temperature. By applying a gate voltage, we can electrically control the ratio of excitons and trions and assert a residual n-type doping of our samples. At high excitation densities and low temperatures, an additional peak at energies below the trion dominates the photoluminescence, which we identify as biexciton emission.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Reversal of Nonlocal Vortex Motion in the Regime of Strong Nonequilibrium

We investigate nonlocal vortex motion in weakly pinning a-NbGe nanostructures, which is driven by a transport current I and remotely detected as a nonlocal voltage Vnl. At high I, the measured Vnl exhibits dramatic sign reversals that at low and high temperatures T occur for opposite polarities of I. The sign of Vnl becomes independent of that of the drive current at large abs(I). These unusual effects can be nearly quantitatively explained by a novel enhancement of magnetization, arising from a nonequilibrium distribution of quasiparticles at high T, and a Nernst-like effect resulting from local electron heating at low T

Strongly nonequilibrium flux flow in the presence of perforating submicron holes

We report on the effects of perforating submicron holes on the vortex dynamics of amorphous Nb0.7Ge0.3 microbridges in the strongly nonequilibrium mixed state, when vortex properties change substantially. In contrast to the weak nonequilibrium - when the presence of holes may result in either an increase (close to Tc) or a decrease (well below Tc) of the dissipation, in the strong nonequilibrium an enhanced dissipation is observed irrespectively of the bath temperature. Close to Tc this enhancement is similar to that in the weak nonequilibrium, but corresponds to vortices shrunk due to the Larkin-Ovchinnikov mechanism. At low temperatures the enhancement is a consequence of a weakening of the flux pinning by the holes in a regime where electron heating dominates the superconducting properties.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Nonlocal vs local vortex dynamics in the transversal flux transformer effect

In this follow-up to our recent Letter [F. Otto et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 027005 (2010)], we present a more detailed account of the superconducting transversal flux transformer effect (TFTE) in amorphous (a-)NbGe nanostructures in the regime of strong nonequilibrium in local vortex motion. Emphasis is put on the relation between the TFTE and local vortex dynamics, as the former turns out to be a reliable tool for determining the microscopic mechanisms behind the latter. By this method, a progression from electron heating at low temperatures T to the Larkin-Ovchinnikov effect close to the transition temperature Tc is traced over a range 0.26 < T/Tc < 0.95. This is represented by a number of relevant parameters such as the vortex transport entropy related to the Nernst-like effect at low T, and a nonequilibrium magnetization enhancement close to Tc. At intermediate T, the Larkin-Ovchinnikov effect is at high currents modified by electron heating, which is clearly observed only in the TFTE

Magnetic field induced localization in carbon nanotubes

The electronic spectra of long carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can, to a very good approximation, be obtained using the dispersion relation of graphene with both angular and axial periodic boundary conditions. In short CNTs one must account for the presence of open ends, which may give rise to states localized at the edges. We show that when a magnetic field is applied parallel to the tube axis, it modifies both momentum quantization conditions, causing hitherto extended states to localize near the ends. This localization is gradual and initially the involved states are still conducting. Beyond a threshold value of the magnetic field, which depends on the nanotube chirality and length, the localization is complete and the transport is suppressed.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure