A range expanding signal conditioner

Telemetry system modifications to improve signal resolution are described. Process uses zero suppression technique which consists of subtracting known voltage from input and amplifying remainder. Schematic diagram of circuit is provided and details of operation are presented

Direct link between Coulomb blockade and shot noise in a quantum coherent structure

We analyze the current-voltage characteristic of a quantum conduction channel coupled to an electromagnetic environment of arbitrary frequency-dependent impedance. In the weak blockade regime the correction to the ohmic behavior is directly related to the channel current fluctuations vanishing at perfect transmission in the same way as shot noise. This relation can be generalized to describe the environmental Coulomb blockade in a generic mesoscopic conductor coupled to an external impedance, as the response of the latter to the current fluctuations in the former.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Organizational Values Perceived as Evident Among Ohio State University Extension Personnel

The study reported here sought to determine the perceived evidence of organizational values and compare the perceived organizational values of Ohio State University Extension personnel. It investigated the organizational values according to the levels of perceived extremely evident and extremely valued. The top five values perceived as extremely evident were: unbiased delivery of information, research-based programs, honesty/integrity in our work, an emphasis on excellence in educational programming, and helping people help themselves (range: 46.4% - 50.4%). The findings provide direction for OSU Extension to develop strong organizational values and target values not being expressed in the work environment

Subharmonic gap structure in d-wave superconductors

We present a self-consistent theory of current-voltage characteristics of d-wave/d-wave contacts at arbitrary transparency. In particular, we address the open problem of the observation of subharmonic gap structure (SGS) in cuprate junctions. Our analysis shows that: (i) the SGS is possible in d-wave superconductors, (ii) the existence of bound states within the gap results in an even-odd effect in the SGS, (iii) elastic scattering mechanisms, like impurities or surface roughness, may suppress the SGS, and (iv) in the presence of a magnetic field the Doppler shift of the Andreev bound states leads to a very peculiar splitting of the SGS, which is an unambiguous fingerprint of d-wave superconductivity.Comment: Revtex4, 4 pages, 5 figure

Superconducting Quantum Point Contacts

We review our experiments on the electronic transport properties of atomic contacts between metallic electrodes, in particular superconducting ones. Despite ignorance of the exact atomic configuration, these ultimate quantum point contacts can be manipulated and well characterized in-situ. They allow performing fundamental tests of the scattering theory of quantum transport. In particular, we discuss the case of the Josephson effect

Transitions between "π\pi" and "0" states in superconductor -- ferromagnet -- superconductor junctions

Experimental and theoretical study of superconductor (S) -- ferromagnet (F) -- superconductor junctions showed that in certain range of parameters (e.g., the length of the ferromagnet $d_F$, the exchange field, $E_{\rm ex}$) the ground state of a SFS junction corresponds to superconducting phase difference $\pi$ or 0. The phase diagram of a SFS junction with the respect to $\pi$ and 0 states is investigated in this letter in $E_{\rm ex}, d_{F}, T$ space. It is shown that the phase diagram is very sensitive to the geometry of the system, in particular, to the amount of disorder.Comment: Minor changes. References adde

Evidence for saturation of channel transmission from conductance fluctuations in atomic-size point contacts

The conductance of atomic size contacts has a small, random, voltage dependent component analogous to conductance fluctuations observed in diffusive wires (UCF). A new effect is observed in gold contacts, consisting of a marked suppression of these fluctuations when the conductance of the contact is close to integer multiples of the conductance quantum. Using a model based on the Landauer-Buettiker formalism we interpret this effect as evidence that the conductance tends to be built up from fully transmitted (i.e., saturated) channels plus a single, which is partially transmitted.Comment: An error in Eq.(2) was corrected, where a square root was added to the factor (1-cos(gamma)). This results in a revised estimate for the mean free path of 5 nm, which is now fully consistent with the estimates from the series resistance and the thermopowe