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The electronic transport behavior of a sulflower molecule sandwiched between metal leads by S atom connecting apex Au or Ag atoms was investigated using a first-principles study by current-voltage characteristics, transmission spectrum and local density of states. Negative differential resistance (NDR) effect which originates from Coulomb blockade driven by bias was obtained. We also found that the differential conductance can be modulated by the metal leads with different work functions, which promise the potential applications in molecular devices in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mixed-valence perovskite manganites attracted much attention because of their interesting electro-magnetic properties, and strain modulation on magnetic properties of perovskite manganites is worth exploring. In this paper, [La 0. 8 Ca 0. 2 MnO3/La 0. 5 Ca 0. 5 MnO3] 2 0 superlattice films with different La 0. 8 Ca 0. 2 MnO3 layer thicknesses are prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The crystal structures (lattice constants) of samples are measured by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The strain of the films is determined according to their crystal structures. The magnetic hysteresis loops (M-H loops) and magnetization versus temperature (M-T) curves of these superlattice films are measured by the physical property measurement system (PPMS). From the M-H loops, the coercive field (H C) of the samples can be measured. From the M-T curves, the Curie temperature (T C) of the samples can be obtained. All samples show a ferromagnetic to paramagnetic transition at TC, and the [La 0. 8 Ca 0. 2 MnO3/La 0. 5 Ca 0. 5 MnO3] 2 0 sample with the La 0. 8 Ca 0. 2 MnO3 layer thicknesses of 72 Å has an antiferromagnetic Néel transition at TN. According to the strain state and magnetic phases, the magnetic properties are comprehensively analyzed. It is found that with the increase of ferromagnetic La 0. 8 Ca 0. 2 MnO3 layer thickness, the ferromagnetic phase is increased, and the double exchange effect can also be enhanced, resulting in the increase of TC. When the thickness of La 0. 8 Ca 0. 2 MnO3 reaches 96 Å, the uneven strain distribution in the superlattice can induce the reduction of ferromagnetic phase compared with antiferromagnetic phase (even antiferromagnetic phase starts to appear), and the double exchange effect can be weakened, and finally leading to the decrease of TC. In addition, with increasing the La 0. 8 Ca 0. 2 MnO3 layer thickness, HC gradually decreases. The change of HC is related to strain states and magnetic phase interactions in the samples. The analysis of the strain and magnetism can contribute to the understanding of perovskite manganite superlattice films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the first-principles method which combines the nonequilibrium Green's function (NEGF) with density functional theory (DFT), the role of defect, dopant, barrier length and geometric deformation for low-bias negative differential resistance (NDR) in two capped armchair carbon nanotubes (CNTs) sandwiching barrier are systematically analyzed. We found that this method can regulate the negative differential resistance (NDR) effects such as current peak and peak position. The adjusting mechanism may originate from orbital interaction and orbital reconstruction. Our calculations try to manipulate the transport characteristics in energy space by simply manipulating the structure in real space, which may promise the potential applications in nanomolecular-electronics in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the discovery of topological crystalline insulators (TCIs) in three-dimensional materials such as PbSnSe(Te), the classification of topological insulators has been extended to other discrete symmetry classes such as crystal point group symmetries. In this paper, we construct and study a simple model of weak TCIs, which will serve as a more viable project in the experimental probe for such new type of topological phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]