Energy gap of intermediate-valentSmB6studied by point-contact spectroscopy

We have investigated the intermediate valence narrow-gap semiconductor ${\mathrm{SmB}}_{6}$ at low temperatures using both conventional spear-anvil type point contacts as well as mechanically controllable break junctions. The zero-bias conductance varied between less than $0.01 \ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{S}$ and up to 1 mS. The position of the spectral anomalies, which are related to the different activation energies and band gaps of ${\mathrm{SmB}}_{6},$ did not depend on the the contact size. Two different regimes of charge transport could be distinguished: Contacts with large zero-bias conductance are in the diffusive Maxwell regime. They had spectra with only small nonlinearities. Contacts…