1. Conductance Channels of Gold Atomic-Size Contacts
- Author
-
Elke Scheer, Michel Devoret, Daniel Esteve, Cristian Urbina, and Wolfgang Belzig
- Subjects
Differential conductance ,Atomic radius ,Materials science ,Condensed matter physics ,law ,Atom ,Conductance ,ddc:530 ,Scanning tunneling microscope ,Thermal conduction ,Measure (mathematics) ,Electronic circuit ,law.invention - Abstract
Since the development of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) [1] it is not only possible to see, but also to manipulate and to measure the transport properties of individual atoms on surfaces [2]. By energy dependent measurements of the differential conductance a certain chemical information can be achieved [3]. The challenging aim of building up electronic circuits atom by atom with tailor-made properties, however, would require the detailed knowledge of the relation between the physical and chemical properties of the respective atoms and their conduction properties, a problem which has been addressed by different methods during the last years [4, 5, 6]. The most simple system for all investigations - including the present - is a one-atom contact between two metallic banks of the same element.
- Published
- 2000