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/$\mu$m and attain current densities larger than 10$^5$ A/cm$^2$. FE behaviour is analyzed in the framework of the Fowler-Nordheim theory. A field enhancement factor $\gamma \approx$ 40-50 and a turn-on field $E_{turn-on} \sim$15 V/$\mu$m at an inter-electrode distance of 1 $\mu$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$\Omega$. 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 π\pi-band of Al-doped MgB2_2 Single Crystals

We have performed local tunneling spectroscopy on high quality Mg$_{1-x}$Al$_x$B$_2$ 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 $\Delta_\pi$ 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 $T_C$ down to 24K for x=0.2. On the other hand, we have found that the gap amplitude shows a maximum value $\Delta_\pi= 2.3$ meV for x=0.1, while the $\Delta_\pi / T_C$ 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 $H_{c2}\simeq3T$ for x=0.1 substituted samples. For this Al concentration the data revealed some spatial inhomogeneity in the distribution of $\Delta_\pi$ on nanometer scale.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Fluorescence spectroscopy of normal and follicular cancer samples from human thyroid

An autofluorescence analysis has been performed on healthy as well as tumour thyroid tissue samples to distinguish follicular cancer from normal thyroid. Complete spectra and synchronous spectra have been recordered from properly stored samples. Fluorescence bands located at 350 nm and 400 nm has been observed in the analysed cancer samples

Two Gap State Density in MgB2_{2}: A True Bulk Property or A Proximity Effect?

We report on the temperature dependence of the quasiparticle density of states (DOS) in the simple binary compound MgB2 directly measured using scanning tunneling microscope (STM). To achieve high quality tunneling conditions, a small crystal of MgB2 is used as a tip in the STM experiment. The ``sample'' is chosen to be a 2H-NbSe2 single crystal presenting an atomically flat surface. At low temperature the tunneling conductance spectra show a gap at the Fermi energy followed by two well-pronounced conductance peaks on each side. They appear at voltages V$_{S}\simeq \pm 3.8$ mV and V$_{L}\simeq \pm 7.8$ mV. With rising temperature both peaks disappear at the Tc of the bulk MgB2, a behavior consistent with the model of two-gap superconductivity. The explanation of the double-peak structure in terms of a particular proximity effect is also discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Vacuum gauge from ultrathin MoS2 transistor

We fabricate monolayer MoS2 field effect transistors and study their electric characteristics from 10^-6 Torr to atmospheric air pressure. We show that the threshold voltage of the transistor increases with the growing pressure. Hence, we propose the device as an air pressure sensor, showing that it is particularly suitable as a low power consumption vacuum gauge. The device functions on pressure-dependent O2, N2 and H2O molecule adsorption that affect the n-doping of the MoS2 channel.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure - conference pape

Definitive experimental evidence for two-band superconductivity in MgB2

The superconducting gap of MgB2 has been studied by high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). The momentum(k)-resolving capability of ARPES enables us to identify the s- and p-orbital derived bands predicted from band structure calculations and to successfully measure the superconducting gap on each band. The results show that superconducting gaps with values of 5.5 meV and 2.2 meV open on the s-band and the p-band, respectively, but both the gaps close at the bulk transition temperature, providing a definitive experimental evidence for the two-band superconductivity in MgB2. The experiments validate the role of k-dependent electron-phonon coupling as the origin of multiple-gap superconductivity in MgB2.Comment: PDF file onl