Transport spectroscopy of chemical nanostructures: the case of metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes

Transport spectroscopy, a technique based on current-voltage measurements of individual nanostructures in a three-terminal transistor geometry, has emerged as a powerful new tool to investigate the electronic properties of chemically derived nanostructures. In this review, we discuss the utility of this approach using the recent studies of single-nanotube transistors as an example. Specifically, we discuss how transport measurements can be used to gain detailed insight into the electronic motion in metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes in several distinct regimes, depending on the coupling strength of the contacts to the nanotubes. Measurements of nanotube devices in these different conductance regimes have enabled a detailed analysis of the transport properties, including the experimental determination of all Hartree-Fock parameters that govern the electronic structure of metallic nanotubes and the demonstration of Fabry-Perot resonators based on the interference of electron waves

Shell Filling and Exchange Coupling in Metallic Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

We report the characterization of electronic shell filling in metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes by low-temperature transport measurements. Nanotube quantum dots with average conductance ∼(1–2)e^2/h exhibit a distinct four-electron periodicity for electron addition as well as signatures of Kondo and inelastic cotunneling. The Hartree-Fock parameters that govern the electronic structure of metallic nanotubes are determined from the analysis of transport data using a shell-filling model that incorporates the nanotube band structure and Coulomb and exchange interactions

Plastic deformations in mechanically strained single-walled carbon nanotubes

Antiferromagnetic manipulation was used to controllably stretch individual metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT's). We have found that SWNT's can sustain elongations as great as 30% without breaking. Scanned gate microscopy and transport measurements were used to probe the effects of the mechanical strain on the SWNT electronic properties, which revealed a strain-induced increase in intra-tube electronic scattering above a threshold strain of ~5–10 %. These findings are consistent with theoretical calculations predicting the onset of plastic deformation and defect formation in carbon nanotubes

Deterministic coupling of a single nitrogen vacancy center to a photonic crystal cavity

We describe and experimentally demonstrate a technique for deterministic coupling between a photonic crystal (PC) nanocavity and single emitters. The technique is based on in-situ scanning of a PC cavity over a sample and allows the positioning of the cavity over a desired emitter with nanoscale resolution. The power of the technique, which we term a Scanning Cavity Microscope (SCM), is demonstrated by coupling the PC nanocavity to a single nitrogen vacancy (NV) center in diamond, an emitter system that provides optically accessible electron and nuclear spin qubits

Nanometre-scale thermometry in a living cell

Sensitive probing of temperature variations on nanometre scales is an outstanding challenge in many areas of modern science and technology. In particular, a thermometer capable of subdegree temperature resolution over a large range of temperatures as well as integration within a living system could provide a powerful new tool in many areas of biological, physical and chemical research. Possibilities range from the temperature-induced control of gene expression and tumour metabolism to the cell-selective treatment of disease and the study of heat dissipation in integrated circuits. By combining local light-induced heat sources with sensitive nanoscale thermometry, it may also be possible to engineer biological processes at the subcellular level. Here we demonstrate a new approach to nanoscale thermometry that uses coherent manipulation of the electronic spin associated with nitrogen–vacancy colour centres in diamond. Our technique makes it possible to detect temperature variations as small as 1.8 mK (a sensitivity of $9 mK Hz^{−1/2}$ in an ultrapure bulk diamond sample. Using nitrogen–vacancy centres in diamond nanocrystals (nanodiamonds), we directly measure the local thermal environment on length scales as short as 200 nanometres. Finally, by introducing both nanodiamonds and gold nanoparticles into a single human embryonic fibroblast, we demonstrate temperature-gradient control and mapping at the subcellular level, enabling unique potential applications in life sciences.Physic