Search results for "Tunne"

Zero-bias conductance peak in detached flakes of superconducting 2H-TaS2probed by scanning tunneling spectroscopy

2014

We report an anomalous tunneling conductance with a zero-bias peak in flakes of superconducting 2$H$-${\mathrm{TaS}}_{2}$ detached through mechanical exfoliation. To explain the observed phenomenon, we construct a minimal model for a single unit cell layer of superconducting 2$H$-${\mathrm{TaS}}_{2}$ with a simplified two-dimensional Fermi surface and a sign-changing Cooper-pair wave function induced by Coulomb repulsion. Superconductivity is induced in the central $\ensuremath{\Gamma}$ pocket, where it becomes nodal. We show that weak scattering at the nodal Fermi surface, produced by nonperturbative coupling between tip and sample, gives Andreev states that lead to a zero-bias peak in the…

Observation of thermally excited charge transport modes in a superconducting single-electron transistor

1997

Experiments on a superconducting single-electron transistor are reported. A new structure in the current-voltage characteristics at subgap voltages was observed when temperature was not too low as compared to the superconducting transition temperature Tc of the sample. The strength of the anomalies increases exponentially with temperature. The dominating features arise from matching of singularities in the density of states on two sides of a tunnel junction, and from the Josephson-quasiparticle cycle. Thermal excitations are essential for the former process, and they also make the latter process possible at low voltages.

Temperature and magnetic-field dependence of quantum creep in various high-Tcsuperconductors

1999

To investigate the quantum tunneling of almost macroscopic vortex segments we measured the normalized relaxation rate Q of superconducting currents for various high-T{sub c} superconductors (HTS's) down to 100 mK in magnetic fields up to 7 T. At fields below {approx_equal}0.5 T, Q is essentially independent of T in the temperature regime between thermally activated and quantum motion as theoretically expected. However, at higher fields, we find an unexpected linear T dependence of Q persisting down to the lowest temperatures in all investigated samples. Since these compounds were chosen to represent the distinct classes of dirty and clean HTS's, the extrapolated Q(T=0) values are used to di…

Coulomb blockade-based nanothermometry in strong magnetic fields

1998

We have performed experiments to test for the susceptibility to strong magnetic fields of electron tunneling in normal metal -based nanostructures for Coulomb blockade primary thermometry. We have confirmed that, to within our accuracy of about ±1%, the single electron charging -induced zero bias differential resistance maximum is unaffected by the field up to 23 T at temperatures of 0.4–4.2 K. We discuss the simple theoretical basis of this immunity. We also report on the practical limitation at low temperatures imposed by superconductivity of aluminium in small magnetic fields.

Control of single-electron tunneling by surface acoustic waves.

1994

Spin current pumping in helical Luttinger liquids

2013

We study the DC spin current induced into an unbiased quantum spin Hall system through a two-point contacts setup with time dependent electron tunneling amplitudes. By means of two external gates, it is possible to drive a current with spin-preserving and spin-flipping contributions showing peculiar oscillations as a function of pumping frequency, electron-electron interaction and temperature. From its interference patterns as a function of the Fabry-Perot and Aharonov-Bohm phases, it is possible to extract information about the helical nature of the edge states and the intensity of the electron-electron interaction.

Imaging of test quartz gratings with a photon scanning tunneling microscope Experiment and theory

1995

We use the differential formalism of the electromagnetic theory of gratings to interpret the images of test sinusoidal or lamellar quartz gratings obtained with a photon scanning tunneling microscope. The period of the grating is 0.5 μm, and the height of the rule is 0.2 μm. It is shown that the images depend strongly on several parameters, such as polarization or angle of incidence, with respect to the ruling direction. A systematic study of the isointensity lines above the gratings as a function of polarization is presented, and it is shown that the image contrast can be increased or decreased depending on the sample–probe distance. To model the interaction of the fiber probe with the ele…

Resonant optical tunnel effect through dielectric structures of subwavelength cross sections.

1998

We show that optical tunnel effects through elongated structures of subwavelength cross sections can be enhanced by the appropriate structuration of the local dielectric function. Even under total internal reflection, transfer channels can be excited to perform spatially confined photonic transfer between transparent media linked by such subwavelength structures. The optical properties of such systems are analyzed using field susceptibilities, also known as electromagnetic Green's dyadics, which determine both the local density of photon states and the optical transmittance of the system. Green's dyadics obtained by solving numerically a set of dyadic Dyson equations are applied to study th…

Numerical investigation of one‐dimensional tunnel junction arrays at temperatures above the Coulomb blockade regime

1996

Arrays of tunnel junctions provide simple thermometric parameters in the limit where thermal excitations dominate over charging effects. We present numerical simulations for calculating the current versus voltage characteristics of an arbitrary one‐dimensional array at arbitrary temperatures on the premise of the ‘‘orthodox theory.’’ The purpose of the computer simulations is to investigate the suitability of tunnel junction arrays for thermometry at low temperatures when the analytical formulas do not hold and, specifically, to see the effect of background charges in this regime.

Introduction to Spintronics

2015

Spintronics was born in 1988 with the discovery of GMR provided simultaneously by A. Fert and P. Grunberg and rewarded in 2007 with the Nobel Prize in Physics. This field has since been largely exploited on the market, for example it has been at the base of every hard disk read head. Spintronics field is extremely active and interesting from both a fundamental point of view and for technological applications. Currently, with the aim at new functionalities, there is an increased activity from materials research perspective to understand and develop spintronics devices using materials with new properties like carbon nanotubes, graphene, topological insulators and molecules. This chapter will …