235 research outputs found
Effect of disorder on the conductance of a Cu atomic point contact
We present a systematic study of the effect of the disorder in copper point
contacts. We show that peaks in the conductance histogram of copper point
contacts shift upon addition of nickel impurities. The shift increases
initially linerarly with the nickel concentration, thus confirming that it is
due to disorder in the nanowire, in accordance with predictions. In general,
this shift is modelled as a resistance R_s which is placed in series with the
contact resistance R_c. However, we obtain different R_s values for the two
peaks in the histogram, R_s being larger for the peak at higher conductance.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Ultrafast harmonic mode-locking of monolithic compound-cavity laser diodes incorporating photonic-bandgap reflectors
We present the first demonstration of reproducible harmonic mode-locked operation from a novel design of monolithic semiconductor laser comprising a compound cavity formed by a 1-D photonic-bandgap (PBG) mirror. Mode-locking (ML) is achieved at a harmonic of the fundamental round-trip frequency with pulse repetition rates from 131 GHz up to a record high frequency of 2.1 THz. The devices are fabricated from GaAs-Al-GaAs material emitting at a wavelength of 860 nm and incorporate two gain sections with an etched PBG reflector between them, and a saturable absorber section. Autocorrelation studies are reported which allow the device behavior for different ML frequencies, compound cavity ratios, and type and number of intra-cavity reflectors to be analyzed. The highly reflective PBG microstructures are shown to be essential for subharmonic-free ML operation of the high-frequency devices. We have also demonstrated that the single PBG reflector can be replaced by two separate features with lower optical loss. These lasers may find applications in terahertz; imaging, medicine, ultrafast optical links, and atmospheric sensing
Crossover from Electronic to Atomic Shell Structure in Alkali Metal Nanowires
After making a cold weld by pressing two clean metal surfaces together, upon
gradually separating the two pieces a metallic nanowire is formed, which
progressively thins down to a single atom before contact is lost. In previous
experiments [1,2] we have observed that the stability of such nanowires is
influenced by electronic shell filling effects, in analogy to shell effects in
metal clusters [3]. For sodium and potassium at larger diameters there is a
crossover to crystalline wires with shell-closings corresponding to the
completion of additional atomic layers. This observation completes the analogy
between shell effects observed for clusters and nanowires.Comment: 4 page
Onset of dissipation in ballistic atomic wires
Electronic transport at finite voltages in free-standing gold atomic chains
of up to 7 atoms in length is studied at low temperatures using a scanning
tunneling microscope (STM). The conductance vs voltage curves show that
transport in these single-mode ballistic atomic wires is non-dissipative up to
a finite voltage threshold of the order of several mV. The onset of dissipation
and resistance within the wire corresponds to the excitation of the atomic
vibrations by the electrons traversing the wire and is very sensitive to
strain.Comment: Revtex4, 4 pages, 3 fig
Competition of multiband superconducting and magnetic order in ErNi2B2C observed by Andreev reflection
Point contacts (PC) Andreev reflection dV/dI spectra for the
antiferromagnetic (T_N =6K) superconductor (Tc=11K) ErNi2B2C have been measured
for the two main crystallographic directions. Observed retention of the Andreev
reflection minima in dV/dI up to Tc directly points to unusual superconducting
order parameter (OP) vanishing at Tc. Temperature dependence of OP was obtained
from dV/dI using recent theory of Andreev reflection including pair-breaking
effect. For the first time existence of a two superconducting OPs in ErNi2B2C
is shown. A distinct decrease of both OPs as temperature is lowered below T_N
is observed.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figs, to be published in Europhys. Let
Stability and Symmetry Breaking in Metal Nanowires
A general linear stability analysis of simple metal nanowires is presented
using a continuum approach which correctly accounts for material-specific
surface properties and electronic quantum-size effects. The competition between
surface tension and electron-shell effects leads to a complex landscape of
stable structures as a function of diameter, cross section, and temperature. By
considering arbitrary symmetry-breaking deformations, it is shown that the
cylinder is the only generically stable structure. Nevertheless, a plethora of
structures with broken axial symmetry is found at low conductance values,
including wires with quadrupolar, hexapolar and octupolar cross sections. These
non-integrable shapes are compared to previous results on elliptical cross
sections, and their material-dependent relative stability is discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
Electronic and atomic shell structure in aluminum nanowires
We report experiments on aluminum nanowires in ultra-high vacuum at room
temperature that reveal a periodic spectrum of exceptionally stable structures.
Two "magic" series of stable structures are observed: At low conductance, the
formation of stable nanowires is governed by electronic shell effects whereas
for larger contacts atomic packing dominates. The crossover between the two
regimes is found to be smooth. A detailed comparison of the experimental
results to a theoretical stability analysis indicates that while the main
features of the observed electron-shell structure are similar to those of
alkali and noble metals, a sequence of extremely stable wires plays a unique
role in Aluminum. This series appears isolated in conductance histograms and
can be attributed to "superdeformed" non-axisymmetric nanowires.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figure
Point Contact Spectroscopy of Superconducting Gap Anisotropy in Nickel Borocarbide Compound LuNi2B2C
Point contacts are used to investigate the anisotropy of the superconducting
energy gap in LuNi2B2C in the ab plane and along the c axis. It is shown that
the experimental curves should be described assuming that the superconducting
gap is non-uniformly distributed over the Fermi surface. The largest and the
smallest gaps have been estimated by two-gap fitting models. It is found that
the largest contribution to the point-contact conductivity in the c direction
is made by a smaller gap and, in the ab plane by a larger gap. The deviation
from the one-gap BCS model is pronounced in the temperature dependence of the
gap in both directions. The temperature range, where the deviation occurs, is
for the c direction approximately 1.5 times more than in the ab plane. The
\Gamma parameter, allowing quantitatively estimate the gap anisotropy by
one-gap fitting, in c direction is also about 1.5 times greater than in the ab
plane. Since it is impossible to describe satisfactorily such gap distribution
either by the one- or two-gap models, a continuous, dual-maxima model of gap
distribution over the Fermi surface should be used to describe
superconductivity in this material.Comment: 10 pages, 14 Figs, accepted in PR
Electronic resonance states in metallic nanowires during the breaking process simulated with the ultimate jellium model
We investigate the elongation and breaking process of metallic nanowires
using the ultimate jellium model in self-consistent density-functional
calculations of the electron structure. In this model the positive background
charge deforms to follow the electron density and the energy minimization
determines the shape of the system. However, we restrict the shape of the wires
by assuming rotational invariance about the wire axis. First we study the
stability of infinite wires and show that the quantum mechanical
shell-structure stabilizes the uniform cylindrical geometry at given magic
radii. Next, we focus on finite nanowires supported by leads modeled by
freezing the shape of a uniform wire outside the constriction volume. We
calculate the conductance during the elongation process using the adiabatic
approximation and the WKB transmission formula. We also observe the correlated
oscillations of the elongation force. In different stages of the elongation
process two kinds of electronic structures appear: one with extended states
throughout the wire and one with an atom-cluster like unit in the constriction
and with well localized states. We discuss the origin of these structures.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure
Spin Diode Based on Fe/MgO Double Tunnel Junction
We demonstrate a spin diode consisting of a semiconductor free nano-scale
Fe/MgO-based double tunnel junction. The device exhibits a near perfect
spin-valve effect combined with a strong diode effect. The mechanism consistent
with our data is resonant tunneling through discrete states in the middle
ferromagnetic layer sandwiched by tunnel barriers of different spin-dependent
transparency. The observed magneto-resistance is record high, ~4000%,
essentially making the structure an on/off spin-switch. This, combined with the
strong diode effect, ~100, offers a new device that should be promising for
such technologies as magnetic random access memory and re-programmable logic.Comment: 14 page
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