Quantum contact in gold nanostructures by scanning tunneling microscopy

Pascual, José; Méndez, Javier; Gómez-Herrero, Júlio; Baró, A. M.; Garcı́a, N.; Binh, Vu Thien

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.71.1852

Cited by 585 publications

(351 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] This artificial one-dimensional arrangement of single atoms is unstable; gold ͑Au͒ ASWs survive for up to 2 ms at a retraction speed of ϳ10 nm/ s. On the basis of similarity in surface reconstruction, it is proposed that ASWs of the single metallic elements, platinum ͑Pt͒ and iridium ͑Ir͒, also possess structural stability comparable to that of Au ASWs. The formation process of ASWs during thinning of NCs has been investigated in relation to their quantized conductance defined by a quantum ͑G 0 =2e 2 / h, where e is the electron charge and h is Planck's constant͒.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atomic configuration, conductance, and tensile force of platinum wires of single-atom width

Kizuka

Monna

2009

Phys. Rev. B

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Platinum ͑Pt͒ wires of single-atom width were produced by the retraction of a Pt nanotip from contact with a Pt plate at room temperature inside a transmission electron microscope. The distance between the nanotip and the plate was controlled using a conductance feedback system, as a result of which wires showing certain conductance values were observed continuously by in situ lattice imaging. Simultaneously, the force acting on the wires was measured using a function of atomic force microscopy. The tip-plate distance was also increased with a constant speed, and the atomic configuration, force, and conductance were similarly investigated. The single-atom-width Pt wires were found to exhibit straight shapes with an interatomic distance of 0.28Ϯ 0.03 nm. The wires were stable at a tensile force of approximately 1 nN; the observed interatomic distance resulted from elastic expansion. The present study demonstrated experimental evidence for the relationship between wire length and conductance; the wires extend from a three-atom length to a five-atom length as the selected feedback conductance decreases from 2.0 to 0.5G 0 ͑where G 0 =2e 2 / h, e being the charge of an electron and h Planck's constant͒. Contacts exhibiting a conductance of 3.0G 0 were two-atom-width contacts. In a conductance histogram constructed from the simple retraction, only one peak was observed at 1.3G 0 . Thus, it was found that the conductance of single-atom-width Pt wires is less than 3.0G 0 , with 1.3G 0 being that of the most-stable state.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atomic configuration, conductance, and tensile force of platinum wires of single-atom width

Kizuka

Monna

2009

Phys. Rev. B

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“…Such contacts can be achieved using the mechanically controllable break junction (MCBJ) technique [3,[28][29][30][31][32] and STM-based methods [33][34][35][36]. The advantages of the MCBJ technique are its high vibration stability and the fact that the junction resistance can be adjusted over a wide range from 10 −3 Ω to > 10 4 Ω.…”

Section: Realisation Of Magnetic Quantum Point Contactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electron Transport in Magnetic Quantum Point Contacts

et al. 2012

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In recent years, the fabrication of novel building blocks for quantum computation-and spintronics devices gained significant attention. The ultimate goal in terms of miniaturization is the creation of single-atom functional elements. Practically, quantum point contacts are frequently used as model systems to study the fundamental electronic transport properties of such mesoscopic systems. A quantum point contact is characterised by a narrow constriction coupling two larger electron reservoirs. In the absence of a magnetic field, the conductance of these quantum point contacts is quantised in multiples of 2e 2 /h, the so-called conductance quantum (G 0 ). However, in the presence of magnetic fields the increased spin-degeneracy often gives rise to a deviation from the idealized behaviour and therefore leads to a change in the characteristic conductance of the quantum point contact. Herein, we illustrate the complex magnetotransport characteristics in quantum point contacts and magnetic heterojunctions. The theoretical framework and experimental concepts are discussed briefly together with the experimental results as well as potential applications.

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“…Metallic nanocontacts nowadays are prepared by means of scanning tunneling microscopy [1] or break junction techniques [2]. In both cases, a wire is streched with a precision of a few picometers by means of piezoelectric elements until finally a single-atom configuration is reached.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical bonding and charge distribution at metallic nanocontacts

Schwingenschlögl

Schuster

2006

Chemical Physics Letters

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We present results of electronic structure calculations for aluminium contacts of atomic size, based on density functional theory and the local density approximation. Addressing the atomic orbitals at the neck of the nanocontact, we find that the local band structure deviates strongly from bulk fcc aluminium. In particular, hybridization between Al 3s and 3p states is fully suppressed due to directed bonds at the contact. Moreover, a charge transfer of 0.6 electrons off the contact aluminium site is found. Both the suppressed hybridization and the violated charge neutrality are characteristic features of metallic nanocontacts. This fact has serious consequences for models aiming at a microscopic description of transport properties.

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Quantum contact in gold nanostructures by scanning tunneling microscopy

Cited by 585 publications

References 9 publications

Atomic configuration, conductance, and tensile force of platinum wires of single-atom width

Atomic configuration, conductance, and tensile force of platinum wires of single-atom width

Electron Transport in Magnetic Quantum Point Contacts

Chemical bonding and charge distribution at metallic nanocontacts

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