D. Beckmann

Driving current through single organic molecules.

We investigate electronic transport through two types of conjugated molecules. Mechanically controlled break junctions are used to couple thiol end groups of single molecules to two gold electrodes. Current-voltage characteristics ( IVs) of the metal-molecule-metal system are observed. These IVs reproduce the spatial symmetry of the molecules with respect to the direction of current flow. We hereby unambiguously detect an intrinsic property of the molecule and are able to distinguish the influence of both the molecule and the contact to the metal electrodes on the transport properties of the compound system.

Electronic transport through single conjugated molecules

Abstract We investigate electronic transport through single conjugated molecules, and compare our data to results of quantum chemical calculations. Conductance spectra of two types of molecules are studied in a metal–molecule–metal junction established using the mechanically controlled break-junction technique. We observe a suppressed conductance at low bias, characteristic step-like features at higher voltages, and strong sample-to-sample fluctuations. We develop a quantum-chemical model for our system using DFT calculations, with the electrodes modelled by small clusters. We consider the effects of different geometries of molecule–metal configurations and bonding as well as finite electric field, and are thereby able to account for the phenomenology of the experimental data.

Evidence for Crossed Andreev Reflection in Superconductor-Ferromagnet Hybrid Structures

We have measured the nonlocal resistance of aluminum-iron spin-valve structures fabricated by e-beam lithography and shadow evaporation. The sample geometry consists of an aluminum bar with two or more ferromagnetic wires forming point contacts to the aluminum at varying distances from each other. In the normal state of aluminum, we observe a spin-valve signal which allows us to control the relative orientation of the magnetizations of the ferromagnetic contacts. In the superconducting state, at low temperatures and excitation voltages well below the gap, we observe a spin-dependent nonlocal resistance which decays on a smaller length scale than the normal-state spin-valve signal. The sign, magnitude, and decay length of this signal are consistent with predictions made for crossed Andreev reflection.

Surface stress-charge response of a (111)-textured gold electrode under conditions of weak ion adsorption.

We report a cantilever bending investigation into the variation of surface stress, f, with surface charge density, q, for (111)-textured thin films of gold in aqueous NaF and HClO 4. The graphs of f(q) are highly linear, and the surface stress-charge coefficients, d f/d q, are -1.95 V for 7 mM NaF and -2.0 V for 10 mM HClO 4 near the potential of zero charge. These values exceed some previously published experimental data by a factor of 2, but they agree with recent ab initio calculations of the surface stress-charge response of gold in vacuum.

Long-range spin-polarized quasiparticle transport in mesoscopic Al superconductors with a Zeeman splitting.

We report on nonlocal transport in multiterminal superconductor-ferromagnet structures, which were fabricated by means of e-beam lithography and shadow evaporation techniques. In the presence of a significant Zeeman splitting of the quasiparticle states, we find signatures of spin transport over distances of several μm, exceeding other length scales such as the coherence length, the normal-state spin-diffusion length, and the charge-imbalance length. The relaxation length of the spin signal shows a nearly linear increase with magnetic field, hinting at a freeze-out of relaxation by the Zeeman splitting. We propose that the relaxation length is given by the recombination length of the quasiparticles rather than a renormalized spin-diffusion length.

Fluxon readout of a superconducting qubit

An experiment demonstrating a link between classical single-flux quantum digital logic and a superconducting quantum circuit is reported. We implement coupling between a moving Josephson vortex (fluxon) and a flux qubit by reading out of a state of the flux qubit through a frequency shift of the fluxon oscillations in an annular Josephson junction. The energy spectrum of the flux qubit is measured using this technique. The implemented hybrid scheme opens an opportunity to readout quantum states of superconducting qubits with the classical fluxon logic circuits.

Observation of Thermoelectric Currents in High-Field Superconductor-Ferromagnet Tunnel Junctions.

We report on the experimental observation of spin-dependent thermoelectric currents in superconductor-ferromagnet tunnel junctions in high magnetic fields. The thermoelectric signals are due to a spin-dependent lifting of the particle-hole symmetry, and are found to be in excellent agreement with recent theoretical predictions. The maximum Seebeck coefficient inferred from the data is about -100  μV/K, much larger than commonly found in metallic structures. Our results directly prove the coupling of spin and heat transport in high-field superconductors.

Specific heat and critical fields of the organic superconductor β″–(BEDT-TTF)2SF5CH2CF2SO3

We report on specific-heat, magnetization, and ac-susceptibility measurements of {beta}{sup {double_prime}}-(BEDT-TTF){sub 2}SF{sub 5}CH{sub 2}CF{sub 2}SO{sub 3}, an organic superconductor with T{sub c}=4.5 K, where BEDT-TTF stands for bis(ethylenedithio)-tetrathiafulvalene. The jump of the specific heat C at T{sub c} and the exact form of the specific-heat difference between C in the superconducting (B=0 T) and in the normal (B=3.5 T) state can be well described by BCS theory with strong coupling. We estimate an electron-phonon coupling parameter {lambda}{approx}1.1. From measurements of C in magnetic fields we extract the upper critical field B{sub c2}(T). Low-field dc-magnetization measurements were used to determine the temperature dependence of the lower critical field B{sub c1}. From T{sub c} down to {approximately}3 K the characteristic suppression of B{sub c1}{sup {perpendicular}}(T) below the sensitivity limit is observed. {copyright} {ital 1998} {ital The American Physical Society}

Charge imbalance in superconductors in the low-temperature limit

We explore charge imbalance in mesoscopic normal-metal/superconductor multiterminal structures at very low temperatures. The investigated samples, fabricated by e-beam lithography and shadow evaporation, consist of a superconducting aluminum bar with several copper wires forming tunnel contacts at different distances from each other. We have measured in detail the local and nonlocal conductance of these structures as a function of the applied bias voltage

Conductance properties of single-molecule junctions

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