124 research outputs found
Role of Inter-Electron Interaction in the Pseudo-Gap Opening in High T Tunneling Experiments
The analysis of tunneling experiments showing the pseudogap type behavior is
carried out based on the idea of the renormalization of density of states due
to the inter-electron interaction in the Cooper channel (superconducting
fluctuations contribution in tunneling current). It is demonstrated that the
observed kink of the zero-bias conductance of junctions in
the vicinity of can be explained in terms of fluctuation theory in a
quite wide range of temperature above , using the values of microscopic
parameters of the electron spectrum taken from independent
experiments. The approach proposed also permits to explain qualitatively the
shape of the tunneling anomalies in and gives a correct estimate for
the pseudogap position and amplitude observed in the experiments on
junctions.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
A local field emission study of partially aligned carbon-nanotubes by AFM probe
We report on the application of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) for studying
the Field Emission (FE) properties of a dense array of long and vertically
quasi-aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes grown by catalytic Chemical Vapor
Deposition on a silicon substrate. The use of nanometric probes enables local
field emission measurements allowing investigation of effects non detectable
with a conventional parallel plate setup, where the emission current is
averaged on a large sample area. The micrometric inter-electrode distance let
achieve high electric fields with a modest voltage source. Those features
allowed us to characterize field emission for macroscopic electric fields up to
250 V/m and attain current densities larger than 10 A/cm. FE
behaviour is analyzed in the framework of the Fowler-Nordheim theory. A field
enhancement factor 40-50 and a turn-on field 15 V/m at an inter-electrode distance of 1 m are estimated.
Current saturation observed at high voltages in the I-V characteristics is
explained in terms of a series resistance of the order of M. Additional
effects as electrical conditioning, CNT degradation, response to laser
irradiation and time stability are investigated and discussed
Field emission from single multi-wall carbon nanotubes
Electron field emission characteristics of individual multiwalled carbon
nanotubes have been investigated by a piezoelectric nanomanipulation system
operating inside a scanning electron microscopy chamber. The experimental setup
ensures a high control capability on the geometric parameters of the field
emission system (CNT length, diameter and anode-cathode distance). For several
multiwalled carbon nanotubes, reproducible and quite stable emission current
behaviour has been obtained with a dependence on the applied voltage well
described by a series resistance modified Fowler-Nordheim model. A turn-on
field of about 30 V/um and a field enhancement factor of around 100 at a
cathode-anode distance of the order of 1 um have been evaluated. Finally, the
effect of selective electron beam irradiation on the nanotube field emission
capabilities has been extensively investigated.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure
Local Tunneling Study of Three-Dimensional Order Parameter in the -band of Al-doped MgB Single Crystals
We have performed local tunneling spectroscopy on high quality
MgAlB single crystals by means of Variable Temperature Scanning
Tunneling Spectroscopy (STS) in magnetic field up to 3 Tesla. Single gap
conductance spectra due to c-axis tunneling were extensively measured, probing
different amplitudes of the three-dimensional as a function of Al
content. Temperature and magnetic field dependences of the conductance spectra
were studied in S-I-N configuration: the effect of the doping resulted in a
monotonous reduction of the locally measured down to 24K for x=0.2. On
the other hand, we have found that the gap amplitude shows a maximum value
meV for x=0.1, while the ratio increases
monotonously with doping. The locally measured upper critical field was found
to be strongly related to the gap amplitude, showing the maximum value
for x=0.1 substituted samples. For this Al concentration the
data revealed some spatial inhomogeneity in the distribution of on
nanometer scale.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Field emission properties of as-grown multiwalled carbon nanotube films
Multiwalled carbon nanotubes have been produced by ethylene catalytic
chemical vapor deposition and used to fabricate thick and dense freestanding
films ("buckypapers") by membrane filtering. Field emission properties of
buckypapers have been locally studied by means of high vacuum atomic force
microscopy with a standard metallic cantilever used as anode to collect
electrons emitted from the sample. Buckypapers showed an interesting linear
dependence in the Fowler-Nordheim plots demonstrating their suitability as
emitters. By precisely tuning the tip-sample distance in the submicron region
we found out that the field enhancement factor is not affected by distance
variations up to 2um. Finally, the study of current stability showed that the
field emission current with intensity of about 3,3*10-5A remains remarkably
stable (within 5% fluctuations) for several hours.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figure
ab-plane tunneling and Andreev spectroscopy of superconducting gap and pseudogap in (Bi,Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8
We have measured the temperature dependence of gap features revealed by
Andreev reflection Delta_s and by tunneling Delta in the ab-plane of optimal
and slightly overdoped microcrystals of (BiPb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 (Bi2223) with
critical temperature Tc=110-115 K, and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 (Bi2212) with Tc=80-84 K.
The tunneling conductance of Bi2223-Insulator-Bi2223 junction shows peaks at
the 2Delta gap voltage, as well as dips and broad humps at other voltages. In
Bi2223, similarly to the well known Bi2212 spectra, the energies corresponding
to 2Delta, to the dip, and to the hump structure are in the ratio of 2:3:4.
This confirms that the dip and hump features are generic to the high
temperature superconductors, irrespective of the number of CuO2 layers or the
BiO superstructure. On the other hand, in both compounds Delta(T) and
Delta_s(T) dependences are completely different, and we conclude that the two
entities have different nature.Comment: LaTeX 2e, 17 pages, 7 figures in .eps forma
Intrinsic surface depression of the order parameter under mixed (s+id)-wave pair symmetry and its effect on the critical current of high-Tc SIS Josephson junctions
An intrinsic gap depression at the Superconductor-Insulator interface due to
the very short value of the coherence length in High-Tc Superconductors [HTSs]
is considered, in the framework of a mixed (s+id)-wave pair symmetry for the
order parameter ranging from pure s to pure d-wave. This gap depression acts as
the main physical agent causing the relevant reduction of IcRn(T) values with
respect to BCS expectations in HTS SIS Josephson junctions. Good agreement with
various experimental data is obtained with both pure s-wave and pure d-wave
symmetries of the order parameter, but with amounts of gap depression depending
on the pair symmetry adopted. Regardless of the pair symmetry considered, these
results prove the importance of the surface order-parameter depression in the
correct interpretation of the Ic(T)Rn(T) data in HTS SIS junctions. In a case
of planar YBCO-based junction the use of the de Gennes condition allowed us to
tentatively obtain an upper limit for the amount of d-wave present in the order
parameter of YBCO.Comment: 11 pages REVTeX file, 6 PostScript figures, to be published in J.
Superconductivit
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