Über den Einfluss magnetischer Korrelationen auf den Ladungstransport durch atomare Kontakte aus Übergangsmetallen

publishe

Magnetism in Pd : Magnetoconductance and transport spectroscopy of atomic contacts

Since the rapid technological progress demands for ever smaller storage units, the emergence of stablemagnetic order in nanomaterials down to the single-atom regime has attracted huge scientific attention to date. Electronic transport spectroscopy has been proven to be a versatile tool for the investigation of electronic, magnetic, and mechanical properties of atomic contacts. Herewe report a comprehensive experimental study of themagnetoconductance and electronic properties of Pd atomic contacts at low temperature. The analysis of electronic transport (dI/dV ) spectra and the magnetoconductance curves yields a diverse behavior of Pd single-atom contacts, which is attributed to different contact configurations. The magnetoconductance shows a nonmonotonous but mostly continuous behavior, comparable to those found in atomic contacts of band ferromagnets. In the dI/dV spectra, frequently, a pronounced zero-bias anomaly (ZBA) as well as an aperiodic and nonsymmetric fluctuation pattern are observed. While the ZBA can be interpreted as a sign of the Kondo effect, suggesting the presence of magnetic impurity, the fluctuations are evaluated in the framework of conductance fluctuations in relation to the magnetoconductance traces and to previous findings in Au atomic contacts. This thorough analysis reveals that the magnetoconductance and transport spectrum of Au atomic contacts can completely be accounted for by conductance fluctuations, while in Pd contacts the presence of local magnetic order is required.publishe

Emerging magnetic order in platinum atomic contacts and chains

The development of atomic-scale structures revealing novel transport phenomena is a major goal of nanotechnology. Examples include chains of atoms that form while stretching a transition metal contact or the predicted formation of magnetic order in these chains, the existence of which is still debated. Here we report an experimental study of the magneto-conductance (MC) and anisotropic MC with atomic-size contacts and mono-atomic chains of the nonmagnetic metal platinum. We find a pronounced and diverse MC behaviour, the amplitude and functional dependence change when stretching the contact by subatomic distances. These findings can be interpreted as a signature of local magnetic order in the chain, which may be of particular importance for the application of atomic-sized contacts in spintronic devices of the smallest possible size

Electron transport in magnetic quantum point contacts

In recent years, the fabrication of novel building blocks for quantum computation- and spintronics devices gained significant attention. The ultimate goal in terms of miniaturization is the creation of single-atom functional elements. Practically, quantum point contacts are frequently used as model systems to study the fundamental electronic transport properties of such mesoscopic systems. A quantum point contact is characterised by a narrow constriction coupling two larger electron reservoirs. In the absence of a magnetic field, the conductance of these quantum point contacts is quantised in multiples of 2e^2/h, the so-called conductance quantum (G_0). However, in the presence of magnetic fields the increased spin-degeneracy often gives rise to a deviation from the idealized behaviour and therefore leads to a change in the characteristic conductance of the quantum point contact. Herein, we illustrate the complex magnetotransport characteristics in quantum point contacts and magnetic heterojunctions. The theoretical framework and experimental concepts are discussed briefly together with the experimental results as well as potential applications

Microwave-induced direct spin-flip transitions in mesoscopic Pd/Co heterojunctions

We experimentally investigate the effect of resonant microwave absorption on the magneto-conductance of tunable Co/Pd point contacts. At the interface a non-equilibrium spin accumulation is created via microwave absorption and can be probed via point contact spectroscopy. We interpret the results as a signature of direct spin-flip excitations in Zeeman-split spin-subbands within the Pd normal metal part of the junction. The inverse effect, which is associated with the emission of a microwave photon in a ferromagnet/normal metal point contact, can also be detected via its unique signature in transport spectroscopy.publishe

Flux-periodicity crossover from h/2e to h/e in aluminium nano-loops

We study the magnetoresistance of aluminium 'double-networks' formed by connecting the vertexes of nano-loops with relatively long wires, creating two interlaced subnetworks of small and large loops (SL and LL, respectively). Far below the critical temperature, Aharonov-Bohm like quantum interference effects are observed for both the LL and the SL subnetworks. When approaching T c, both exhibit the usual Little-Parks oscillations, with periodicity of the superconducting flux quantum Φ 0 =h/2e. For one sample, with a relatively large coherence length, ξ, at temperatures very close to T c, the Φ 0 periodicity of the SL disappears, and the waveform of the first period is consistent with that predicted recently for loops with a size a 0 periodicity.publishe

Microwave-induced direct spin-flip transitions in mesoscopic Pd/Co heterojunctions

We experimentally investigate the effect of resonant microwave absorption on the magneto-conductance of tunable Co/Pd point contacts. At the interface a non-equilibrium spin accumulation is created via microwave absorption and can be probed via point contact spectroscopy. We interpret the results as a signature of direct spin-flip excitations in Zeeman-split spin-subbands within the Pd normal metal part of the junction. The inverse effect, which is associated with the emission of a microwave photon in a ferromagnet/normal metal point contact, can also be detected via its unique signature in transport spectroscopy.publishe