Revealing thermal effects in the electronic transport through irradiated atomic metal point contacts

• DOI: 10.3762/bjnano.3.80
• Publication Date: 2012-10-24T12:50:52Z
• Authors: Bastian Kopp; Zhiwei Yi; Daniel Benner; Fang-Qing Xie; Christian Obermair; Thomas Schimmel; Johannes Boneberg; Paul Leiderer; Elke Scheer
• Keywords: ddc:500; Technology; cyclic voltammogram; Science; QC1-999; atomic contacts; TP1-1185; 02 engineering and technology; 7. Clean energy; Full Research Paper; electronic transport; electrochemically closed break junction; NATURAL sciences & mathematics; info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/530; atom transistor; (Helmholtz) double layer; T; Chemical technology; Physics; Q; 500; temperature-induced changes; thermovoltage; 0210 nano-technology; light-induced signals; info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/500

We report on the electronic transport through nanoscopic metallic contacts under the influence of external light fields. Various processes can be of relevance here, whose underlying mechanisms can be studied by comparing different kinds of atomic contacts. For this purpose two kinds of contacts, which were established by electrochemical deposition, forming a gate-controlled quantum switch (GCQS), have been studied. We demonstrate that in these kinds of contacts thermal effects resulting from local heating due to the incident light, namely thermovoltage and the temperature dependences of the electrical resistivity and the electrochemical (Helmholtz) double layer are the most prominent effects.