134 research outputs found
Influence of e-e scattering on the temperature dependence of the resistance of a classical ballistic point contact in a two-dimensional electron system
We experimentally investigate the temperature (T) dependence of the
resistance of a classical ballistic point contact (PC) in a two-dimensional
electron system (2DES). The split-gate PC is realized in a high-quality
AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure. The PC resistance is found to drop by more than
10% as T is raised from 0.5 K to 4.2 K. In the absence of a magnetic field, the
T dependence is roughly linear below 2 K and tends to saturate at higher T.
Perpendicular magnetic fields on the order of a few 10 mT suppress the
T-dependent contribution dR. This effect is more pronounced at lower
temperatures, causing a crossover to a nearly parabolic T dependence in a
magnetic field. The normalized magnetic field dependencies dR(B) permit an
empiric single parameter scaling in a wide range of PC gate voltages. These
observations give strong evidence for the influence of electron-electron (e-e)
scattering on the resistance of ballistic PCs. Our results are in qualitative
agreement with a recent theory of the e-e scattering based T dependence of the
conductance of classical ballistic PCs [ Phys. Rev. Lett. 101 216807 (2008) and
Phys. Rev. B 81 125316 (2010)].Comment: as publishe
Calculations of spin induced transport in ferromagnets
Based on first-principles density functional calculations, a general approach
for determining and analyzing the degree of spin polarization (P) in
ferromagnets is presented. The approach employs the so-called tetrahedron
method to evaluate the Fermi surface integrations of P in both ballistic and
diffusive regimes. The validity of the method is examined by comparing the
calculated P values for Fe and Ni with the experiment. The method is shown to
yield highly accurate results with minimal computational effort. Within our
approach, it is also possible to systematically analyze the contributions of
various types of electronic states to the spin induced transport. As a case
study, the transport properties of the soft-ferromagnet CeMnNi4 are
investigated in order to explain the origin of the existing difference between
the experimental and theoretical values of P in this intermetallic compound.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures; to appear in Physical Review B 75 (2007
Tunneling of Bloch electrons through vacuum barrier
Tunneling of Bloch electrons through a vacuum barrier introduces new physical
effects in comparison with the textbook case of free (plane wave) electrons.
For the latter, the exponential decay rate in the vacuum is minimal for
electrons with the parallel component of momentum , and
the prefactor is defined by the electron momentum component in the normal to
the surface direction. However, the decay rate of Bloch electrons may be
minimal at an arbitrary (``hot spots''), and the prefactor
is determined by the electron's group velocity, rather than by its
quasimomentum.Comment: 4 pages, no fig
Nonlinear magnetoconductance of a classical ballistic system
We study nonlinear transport through a classical ballistic system accounting
for the Coulomb interaction between electrons. The joint effect of the applied
bias and magnetic field on the electron trajectories results in a
component of the non-linear current which lacks the
symmetry: . At zero temperature the magnitude of
is of the same order as that arising from the quantum
interference mechanism. At higher temperatures the classical mechanism is
expected to dominate due to its relatively weak temperature dependence.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur
Zero-bias anomalies in electrochemically fabricated nanojunctions
A streamlined technique for the electrochemical fabrication of metal
nanojunctions (MNJs) between lithographically defined electrodes is presented.
The first low-temperature transport measurements in such structures reveal
suppression of the conductance near zero-bias. The size of the zero-bias
anomaly (ZBA) depends strongly on the fabrication electrochemistry and the
dimensions of the resulting MNJ. We present evidence that the nonperturbative
ZBA in atomic-scale junctions is due to a density of states suppression in the
leads.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Nucleation and Collapse of the Superconducting Phase in Type-I Superconducting Films
The phase transition between the intermediate and normal states in type-I
superconducting films is investigated using magneto-optical imaging. Magnetic
hysteresis with different transition fields for collapse and nucleation of
superconducting domains is found. This is accompanied by topological hysteresis
characterized by the collapse of circular domains and the appearance of
lamellar domains. Magnetic hysteresis is shown to arise from supercooled and
superheated states. Domain-shape instability resulting from long-range magnetic
interaction accounts well for topological hysteresis. Connection with similar
effects in systems with long-range magnetic interactions is emphasized
Spin-polarized electron transport in ferromagnet/semiconductor heterostructures: Unification of ballistic and diffusive transport
A theory of spin-polarized electron transport in ferromagnet/semiconductor
heterostructures, based on a unified semiclassical description of ballistic and
diffusive transport in semiconductor structures, is developed. The aim is to
provide a framework for studying the interplay of spin relaxation and transport
mechanism in spintronic devices. A key element of the unified description of
transport inside a (nondegenerate) semiconductor is the thermoballistic current
consisting of electrons which move ballistically in the electric field arising
from internal and external electrostatic potentials, and which are thermalized
at randomly distributed equilibration points. The ballistic component in the
unified description gives rise to discontinuities in the chemical potential at
the boundaries of the semiconductor, which are related to the Sharvin interface
conductance. By allowing spin relaxation to occur during the ballistic motion
between the equilibration points, a thermoballistic spin-polarized current and
density are constructed in terms of a spin transport function. An integral
equation for this function is derived for arbitrary values of the momentum and
spin relaxation lengths. For field-driven transport in a homogeneous
semiconductor, the integral equation can be converted into a second-order
differential equation that generalizes the standard spin drift-diffusion
equation. The spin polarization in ferromagnet/semiconductor heterostructures
is obtained by invoking continuity of the current spin polarization and
matching the spin-resolved chemical potentials on the ferromagnet sides of the
interfaces. Allowance is made for spin-selective interface resistances.
Examples are considered which illustrate the effects of transport mechanism and
electric field.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures, REVTEX 4; minor corrections introduced; to
appear in Phys. Rev.
Triple-gap superconductivity of MgB2 - (La,Sr)MnO3 composite. Which of the gaps is proximity induced?
Interplay of superconductivity and magnetism in a composite prepared of the
ferromagnetic half-metallic La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO (LSMO) nanoparticles and the
conventional s-wave superconductor MgB_2 has been studied. A few principal
effects have been found in bulk samples. With an onset of the MgB_2
superconductivity, a spectacular drop of the sample resistance has been
detected and superconductivity has been observed at temperature up to 20K.
Point-contact (PC) spectroscopy has been used to measure directly the
superconducting energy coupling. For small voltage, an excess current and
doubling of the PC's normal state conductance have been found. Conductance
peaks corresponding to three energy gaps are clearly observed. Two of these
gaps we identified as enhanced \Delta_{\pi} and \Delta_{\sigma} gaps
originating from the MgB_2; the third gap \Delta_{tr} is more than three times
larger than the largest MgB_2 gap. The experimental results provide unambiguous
evidences for a new type of proximity effect which follows the phase coherency
scenario of proximity induced superconductivity. Specifically, at low
temperature, the p-wave spin-triplet condensate with pairing energy \Delta_{tr}
is essentially sustained in LSMO but is incapable to display long-range
supercurrent response because of a phase-disordering state. The proximity
coupling to MgB_2 restores the long-range phase coherency of the triplet
superconducting state, which, in turn, enhances superconducting state of the
MgB_2.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
Pinholes May Mimic Tunneling
Interest in magnetic-tunnel junctions has prompted a re-examination of
tunneling measurements through thin insulating films. In any study of
metal-insulator-metal trilayers, one tries to eliminate the possibility of
pinholes (small areas over which the thickness of the insulator goes to zero so
that the upper and lower metals of the trilayer make direct contact). Recently,
we have presented experimental evidence that ferromagnet-insulator-normal
trilayers that appear from current-voltage plots to be pinhole-free may
nonetheless in some cases harbor pinholes. Here, we show how pinholes may arise
in a simple but realistic model of film deposition and that purely classical
conduction through pinholes may mimic one aspect of tunneling, the exponential
decay in current with insulating thickness.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, plain TeX; submitted to Journal of Applied
Physic
Comment on "Spectroscopic Evidence for Multiple Order Parameter Components in the Heavy Fermion Superconductor CeCoIn"
Recently, Rourke et al. reported point-contact spectroscopy results on the
heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn [1]. They obtained conductance spectra
on the c-axis surfaces of CeCoIn single crystals. Their major claims are
two-fold: CeCoIn has i) d-wave pairing symmetry and ii) two coexisting
order parameter components. In this Comment, we show that these claims are not
warranted by the data presented. [1] Rourke et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 107005
(2005).Comment: accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett., final for
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