Point-Contact Spectroscopy

• Authors: A. Jansen
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

In a small metallic constriction ("point contact") the transport of electrons is ballistic. The applied voltage V tunes a well-defined non-equilibrium energy eV of electrons. The nonlinear current-voltage characteristics can be used to perform energy-resolved spectroscopy of the inelastic scattering of electrons with elementary excitations in metal (e.g. phonons, magnons, crystal-field levels, paramagnetic impurities). The basic elements of the point--contact method and its applications will be discussed. In recent point-contact experiments the observed phenomena (weak localization, resistance fluctuations) need a description that goes beyond the classical Boltzmann approach of electronic transport in a point contact. In analogy to observed effects in the diffusive transport in mesoscopic systems, these phenomena are explained by considering quantum-interference effects in the ballistic transport near the contact region related to the wave character of the electrons.

Keywords

EN

72.10.-d; 73.40.Jn

Discipline

• 73.40.Jn: Metal-to-metal contacts
• 72.10.-d: Theory of electronic transport; scattering mechanisms

• Publisher: Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Acta Physica Polonica A
• Year: 1992
• Volume: 82
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 539-550

Dates

published

1992-10

Contributors

author

A. Jansen

• Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung, Hochfeld-Magnetlabor, B.P.166, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France

Identifiers

DOI

10.12693/APhysPolA.82.539