511 research outputs found
Electron transport through a metal-molecule-metal junction
Molecules of bisthiolterthiophene have been adsorbed on the two facing gold
electrodes of a mechanically controllable break junction in order to form
metal-molecule(s)-metal junctions. Current-voltage (I-V) characteristics have
been recorded at room temperature. Zero bias conductances were measured in the
10-100 nS range and different kinds of non-linear I-V curves with step-like
features were reproducibly obtained. Switching between different kinds of I-V
curves could be induced by varying the distance between the two metallic
electrodes. The experimental results are discussed within the framework of
tunneling transport models explicitly taking into account the discrete nature
of the electronic spectrum of the molecule.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures to appear in Phys. Rev. B 59(19) 199
Scaling Law in Carbon Nanotube Electromechanical Devices
We report a method for probing electromechanical properties of multiwalled
carbon nanotubes(CNTs). This method is based on AFM measurements on a doubly
clamped suspended CNT electrostatically deflected by a gate electrode. We
measure the maximum deflection as a function of the applied gate voltage. Data
from different CNTs scale into an universal curve within the experimental
accuracy, in agreement with a continuum model prediction. This method and the
general validity of the scaling law constitute a very useful tool for designing
actuators and in general conducting nanowire-based NEMS.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures. To be published in Phys. Rev. Let
Electron transport through rectifying self-assembled monolayer diodes on silicon: Fermi level pinning at the molecule-metal interface
We report the synthesis and characterization of molecular rectifying diodes
on silicon using sequential grafting of self-assembled monolayers of alkyl
chains bearing a pi group at their outer end (Si/sigma-pi/metal junctions). We
investigate the structure-performance relationships of these molecular devices
and we examine to what extent the nature of the pi end-group (change in the
energy position of their molecular orbitals) drives the properties of these
molecular diodes. For all the pi-groups investigated here, we observe
rectification behavior. These results extend our preliminary work using phenyl
and thiophene groups (S. Lenfant et al., Nano Letters 3, 741 (2003)).The
experimental current-voltage curves are analyzed with a simple analytical
model, from which we extract the energy position of the molecular orbital of
the pi-group in resonance with the Fermi energy of the electrodes. We report
the experimental studies of the band lineup in these silicon/alkyl-pi
conjugated molecule/metal junctions. We conclude that Fermi level pinning at
the pi-group/metal interface is mainly responsible for the observed absence of
dependence of the rectification effect on the nature of the pi-groups, even
though they were chosen to have significant variations in their electronic
molecular orbitalsComment: To be published in J. Phys. Chem.
Markov property of Lagrangian turbulence
Based on direct numerical simulations with point-like inertial particles
transported by homogeneous and isotropic turbulent flows, we present evidence
for the existence of Markov property in Lagrangian turbulence. We show that the
Markov property is valid for a finite step size larger than a Stokes
number-dependent Einstein-Markov memory length. This enables the description of
multi-scale statistics of Lagrangian particles by Fokker-Planck equations,
which can be embedded in an interdisciplinary approach linking the statistical
description of turbulence with fluctuation theorems of non-equilibrium
stochastic thermodynamics and fluctuation theorems, and local flow structures.Comment: submitted to PRL, 5 pages, 4 figure
Entanglement over global distances via quantum repeaters with satellite links
We study entanglement creation over global distances based on a quantum
repeater architecture that uses low-earth orbit satellites equipped with
entangled photon sources, as well as ground stations equipped with quantum
non-demolition detectors and quantum memories. We show that this approach
allows entanglement creation at viable rates over distances that are
inaccessible via direct transmission through optical fibers or even from very
distant satellites.Comment: 5+3 pages, 3+2 figure
Studying Free-Space Transmission Statistics and Improving Free-Space QKD in the Turbulent Atmosphere
The statistical fluctuations in free-space links in the turbulent atmosphere
are important for the distribution of quantum signals. To that end, we first
study statistics generated by the turbulent atmosphere in an entanglement based
free-space quantum key distribution (QKD) system. Using the insights gained
from this analysis, we study the effect of link fluctuations on the security
and key generation rate of decoy state QKD concluding that it has minimal
effect in the typical operating regimes. We then investigate the novel idea of
using these turbulent fluctuations to our advantage in QKD experiments. We
implement a signal-to-noise ratio filter (SNRF) in our QKD system which rejects
measurements during periods of low transmission efficiency, where the measured
quantum bit error rate (QBER) is temporarily elevated. Using this, we increase
the total secret key generated by the system from 78,009 bits to 97,678 bits,
representing an increase of 25.2% in the final secure key rate, generated from
the same raw signals. Lastly, we present simulations of a QKD exchange with an
orbiting LEO satellite and show that an SNRF will be extremely useful in such a
situation, allowing many more passes to extract a secret key than would
otherwise be possible.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Probing quantum and classical turbulence analogy through global bifurcations in a von K\'arm\'an liquid Helium experiment
We report measurements of the dissipation in the Superfluid Helium high
REynold number von Karman flow (SHREK) experiment for different forcing
conditions, through a regime of global hysteretic bifurcation. Our
macroscopical measurements indicate no noticeable difference between the
classical fluid and the superfluid regimes, thereby providing evidence of the
same dissipative anomaly and response to asymmetry in fluid and superfluid
regime. %In the latter case, A detailed study of the variations of the
hysteretic cycle with Reynolds number supports the idea that (i) the stability
of the bifurcated states of classical turbulence in this closed flow is partly
governed by the dissipative scales and (ii) the normal and the superfluid
component at these temperatures (1.6K) are locked down to the dissipative
length scale.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Interfacial charge transfer in nanoscale polymer transistors
Interfacial charge transfer plays an essential role in establishing the
relative alignment of the metal Fermi level and the energy bands of organic
semiconductors. While the details remain elusive in many systems, this charge
transfer has been inferred in a number of photoemission experiments. We present
electronic transport measurements in very short channel ( nm)
transistors made from poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). As channel length is
reduced, the evolution of the contact resistance and the zero-gate-voltage
conductance are consistent with such charge transfer. Short channel conduction
in devices with Pt contacts is greatly enhanced compared to analogous devices
with Au contacts, consistent with charge transfer expectations. Alternating
current scanning tunneling microscopy (ACSTM) provides further evidence that
holes are transferred from Pt into P3HT, while much less charge transfer takes
place at the Au/P3HT interface.Comment: 19 preprint pages, 6 figure
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