4,925 research outputs found
Four-point probe measurements using current probes with voltage feedback to measure electric potentials
We present a four-point probe resistance measurement technique which uses
four equivalent current measuring units, resulting in minimal hardware
requirements and corresponding sources of noise. Local sample potentials are
measured by a software feedback loop which adjusts the corresponding tip
voltage such that no current flows to the sample. The resulting tip voltage is
then equivalent to the sample potential at the tip position. We implement this
measurement method into a multi-tip scanning tunneling microscope setup such
that potentials can also be measured in tunneling contact, allowing in
principle truly non-invasive four-probe measurements. The resulting measurement
capabilities are demonstrated for BiSbTe and Si samples
Si(111) strained layers on Ge(111): evidence for c(2x4) domains
The tensile strained Si(111) layers grown on top of Ge(111) substrates are
studied by combining scanning tunneling microscopy, low energy electron
diffraction and first-principles calculations. It is shown that the layers
exhibit c(2x4) domains, which are separated by domain walls along
directions. A model structure for the c(2x4) domains is proposed, which shows
low formation energy and good agreement with the experimental data. The results
of our calculations suggest that Ge atoms are likely to replace Si atoms with
dangling bonds on the surface (rest-atoms and adatoms), thus significantly
lowering the surface energy and inducing the formation of domain walls. The
experiments and calculations demonstrate that when surface strain changes from
compressive to tensile, the (111) reconstruction converts from
dimer-adatom-stacking fault-based to adatom-based structures
Parametric Generation of Second Sound by First Sound in Superfluid Helium
We report the first experimental observation of parametric generation of
second sound (SS) by first sound (FS) in superfluid helium in a narrow
temperature range in the vicinity of . The temperature dependence
of the threshold FS amplitude is found to be in a good quantitative agreement
with the theory suggested long time ago and corrected for a finite geometry.
Strong amplitude fluctuations and two types of the SS spectra are observed
above the bifurcation. The latter effect is quantitatively explained by the
discreteness of the wave vector space and the strong temperature dependence of
the SS dissipation length.Comment: 4 pages, 4 postscript figures, REVTE
Bose-Einstein condensation of magnons under incoherent pumping
Bose-Einstein condensation in a gas of magnons pumped by an incoherent
pumping source is experimentally studied at room temperature. We demonstrate
that the condensation can be achieved in a gas of bosons under conditions of
incoherent pumping. Moreover, we show the critical transition point is almost
independent of the frequency spectrum of the pumping source and is solely
determined by the density of magnons. The electromagnetic power radiated by the
magnon condensate was found to scale quadratically with the pumping power,
which is in accordance with the theory of Bose-Einstein condensation in magnon
gases
Parametric generation of second sound in superfluid helium: linear stability and nonlinear dynamics
We report the experimental studies of a parametric excitation of a second
sound (SS) by a first sound (FS) in a superfluid helium in a resonance cavity.
The results on several topics in this system are presented: (i) The linear
properties of the instability, namely, the threshold, its temperature and
geometrical dependencies, and the spectra of SS just above the onset were
measured. They were found to be in a good quantitative agreement with the
theory. (ii) It was shown that the mechanism of SS amplitude saturation is due
to the nonlinear attenuation of SS via three wave interactions between the SS
waves. Strong low frequency amplitude fluctuations of SS above the threshold
were observed. The spectra of these fluctuations had a universal shape with
exponentially decaying tails. Furthermore, the spectral width grew continuously
with the FS amplitude. The role of three and four wave interactions are
discussed with respect to the nonlinear SS behavior. The first evidence of
Gaussian statistics of the wave amplitudes for the parametrically generated
wave ensemble was obtained. (iii) The experiments on simultaneous pumping of
the FS and independent SS waves revealed new effects. Below the instability
threshold, the SS phase conjugation as a result of three-wave interactions
between the FS and SS waves was observed. Above the threshold two new effects
were found: a giant amplification of the SS wave intensity and strong resonance
oscillations of the SS wave amplitude as a function of the FS amplitude.
Qualitative explanations of these effects are suggested.Comment: 73 pages, 23 figures. to appear in Phys. Rev. B, July 1 st (2001
Phase Diagram of Chiral Biopolymer Wigner Crystals
We study the statistical mechanics of counterion Wigner crystals associated
with hexagonal bundles of chiral biopolymers. We show that, due to spontaneous
chiral symmetry breaking induced by frustration, these Wigner crystals would be
chiral even if the biopolymers themselves were not chiral. Using a duality
transformation of the model onto a "spin-charge" Hamiltonian, we show that
melting of the Wigner crystal is due to the unbinding of screw dislocations and
that the melting temperature has a singular dependence on the intrinsic
chirality of the biopolymers. Finally, we report that, if electrostatic
interactions are strongly screened, the counterions can condense in the form of
an intermediate achiral Wigner solid phase that melts by the unbinding of
fractional topological charges.Comment: 43 pages, 13 figure
The Kagome Antiferromagnet with Defects: Satisfaction, Frustration, and Spin Folding in a Random Spin System
It is shown that site disorder induces noncoplanar states, competing with the
thermal selection of coplanar states, in the nearest neighbor, classical kagome
Heisenberg antiferromagnet (AFM). For weak disorder, it is found that the
ground state energy is the sum of energies of separately satisfied triangles of
spins. This implies that disorder does not induce conventional spin glass
behavior. A transformation is presented, mapping ground state spin
configurations onto a folded triangular sheet (a new kind of ``spin origami'')
which has conformations similar to those of tethered membranes.Comment: REVTEX, 11 pages + 3 pictures upon reques
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