We formulate the problem of electron transport through a single-molecule magnet (SMM) in the Coulomb blockade regime taking into account topological interference effects for the tunneling of the large spin of a SMM. The interference originates from spin Berry phases associated with different tunneling paths. We show that, in the case of incoherent spin states, it is essential to place the SMM between oppositely spin-polarized source and drain leads in order to detect the spin tunneling in the stationary current, which exhibits topological zeros as a function of the transverse magnetic field.

We present a careful and thorough microscopic derivation of the Kondo Hamiltonian for single-molecule magnets (SMMs) transistors. When the molecule is strongly coupled to metallic leads, we show that by applying a transverse magnetic field it is possible to topologically induce or quench the Kondo effect in the conductance of a SMM with either an integer or a half-integer spin S>1/2. This topological Kondo effect is due to the Berry phase interference between multiple quantum tunneling paths of the spin. We calculate the renormalized Berry phase oscillations of the two Kondo peaks as a function of the transverse magnetic field by means of the poor man's scaling. In particular, we show that the Kondo exchange interaction between itinerant electrons in the leads and the SMM pseudo spin 1/2 depends crucially on the SMM spin selection rules for the addition and subtraction of an electron and can range from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic. We illustrate our findings with the SMM Ni4, which we propose as a possible candidate for the experimental observation of the conductance oscillations

In this paper, we present a plasmonic refractometric sensor that works under normal incidence; allowing its integration on a fiber tip. The sensor's material and geometry exploit the large scattering cross-section given by high-contrast of the index of refraction subwavelength dielectric gratings. Our design generates a hybrid plasmonic-Fano resonance due to the interference between the surface plasmon resonance and the grating response. We optimize the sensor with a merit function that combines the quality parameter of the resonance and the field enhancement at the interaction volume where the plasmon propagates. Our device shows a high sensitivity (1000 nm/RIU) and a high Figure of Merit (775 RIU −1 ). Degradation in performance is negligible through a wide dynamic range up to 0.7 RIU. These quantitative parameters overperform compared to similar plasmonic sensors.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have shown interesting bolometric properties, making them good candidates for the detection of infrared and terahertz radiation. However, little has been reported on the bolometric characteristics of SWNT as a function of their chirality or the possible influence of composite morphology on these properties. The separation of SWNTs based on chirality allows for almost purely semiconductive or metallic SWNTs to be studied. The current study focuses on the bolometric performance of self-assembled composite films of SWNTs. The dependence of these properties on the chirality of the SWNTs was evaluated. To this end, metallic, semiconducting, and a 1:1 mixture of metallic and semiconductive were studied. Also, a theoretical model based on the Wiedemann−Franz law is used to explain the resistance of the SWNT composite films as a function of temperature. Results show that the composite morphology has a significant impact on bolometer performance, with cracked composite films containing highly aligned SWNT arrays suspended over a silicon substrate showing superior responsivity values due to higher thermal isolation. Uncracked composite films showed superior thermal coefficient of resistance values (α = −6.5%/K), however, the responsivity was lower due to lower thermal isolation.

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