arXiv subjects

R. I. Shekhter

Publications and source records attributed to R. I. Shekhter.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2011

Umklapp-Assisted Electron Transport Oscillations in Metal Superlattices

We consider a superlattice of parallel metal tunnel junctions with a spatially non-homogeneous probability for electrons to tunnel. In such structures tunneling can be accompanied by electron scattering that conserves energy but not momentum. In the special case of a tunneling probability that varies periodically with period $a$ in the longitudinal direction, i.e., perpendicular to the junctions, electron tunneling is accompanied by "umklapp" scattering, where the longitudinal momentum changes by a multiple of $h/a$. We predict that as a result a sequence of metal-insulator transitions can be induced by an external electric- or magnetic field as the field strength is increased.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Suppression of stochastic fluctuations of suspended nanowires by temperature-induced single-electron tunnelling

We investigate theoretically the electromechanical properties of freely suspended nanowires that are in tunnelling contact with the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) and two supporting metallic leads. The aim of our analysis is to characterize the fluctuations of the dynamical variables of the nanowire when a temperature drop is mantained between the STM tip and the leads, which are all assumed to be electrically grounded. By solving a quantum master equation that describes the coupled dynamics of electronic and mechanical degrees of freedom we find that the stationary state of the mechanical oscillator has a Gaussian character, but that the amplitude of its root-mean square center-of-mass fluctuations is smaller than would be expected if the system were coupled only to the leads at thermal equilibrium.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Sub-Wavelength Terahertz Spin-Flip Laser Based on a Magnetic Point-Contact Array

We present a novel design for a single-mode, truly sub-wavelength THz disk laser based on a nano-composite gain medium comprising an array of metal/ferromagnetic point contacts embedded in a thin dielectric layer. Stimulated emission of light occurs in the point contacts as a result of spin-flip relaxation of spin-polarized electrons that are injected from the ferromagnetic side of the contacts. Ultra-high electrical current densities in the contacts and a dielectric material with a large refractive index, neither condition being achievable in conventional semiconductor media, allows the thresholds of lasing to be overcome for the lowest-order modes of the disk, hence making single-mode operation possible.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Stimulated emission and absorption of photons in magnetic point contacts: toward metal-based spin-lasers

Point contacts between high anisotropy ferromagnetic SmCo5 and normal metal Cu are used to achieve a strong spin-population inversion in the contact core. Subjected to microwave irradiation in resonance with the Zeeman splitting in Cu, the inverted spin-population relaxes through stimulated spin-flip photon emission, detected as peaks in the point contact resistance. Resonant spin-flip photon absorption is detected as resistance minima, corresponding to sourcing the photon field energy into the electrical circuit. These results demonstrate fundamental mechanisms that are potentially useful for designing metallic spin-based lasers.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Spin-thermo-electronic oscillator based on inverse giant magnetoresistance

A spin-thermo-electronic valve with the free layer of exchange-spring type and inverse magnetoresistance is investigated. The structure has S-shaped current-voltage characteristics and can exhibit spontaneous oscillations when integrated with a conventional capacitor within a resonator circuit. The frequency of the oscillations can be controlled from essentially dc to the GHz range by the circuit capacitance.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Hot electrons in magnetic point contacts as a photon source

We propose to use a point contact between a ferromagnetic and a normal metal in the presence of a magnetic field for creating a large inverted spin-population of hot electrons in the contact core. The key point of the proposal is that when these hot electrons relax by flipping their spin, microwave photons are emitted, with a frequency tunable by the applied magnetic field. While point contacts is an established technology their use as a photon source is a new and potentially very useful application. We show that this photon emission process can be detected by means of transport spectroscopy and demonstrate stimulated emission of radiation in the 10-100 GHz range for a model point contact system using a minority-spin ferromagnetic injector. These results can potentially lead to new types of lasers based on spin injection in metals.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Cooling of nanomechanical resonator by thermally activated single-electron transport

We show that the vibrations of a nanomechanical resonator can be cooled to near its quantum ground state by tunnelling injection of electrons from an STM tip. The interplay between two mechanisms for coupling the electronic and mechanical degrees of freedom results in a bias-voltage dependent difference between the probability amplitudes for vibron emission and absorption during tunneling. For a bias voltage just below the Coulomb blockade threshold we find that absorption dominates, which leads to cooling corresponding to an average vibron population of the fundamental bending mode of 0.2.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Superconductive pumping of nanomechanical vibrations

We demonstrate that a supercurrent can pump energy from a battery that provides a voltage bias into nanomechanical vibrations. Using a device containing a nanowire Josephson weak link as an example we show that a nonlinear coupling between the supercurrent and a static external magnetic field leads to a Lorentz force that excites bending vibrations of the wire at resonance conditions. We also demonstrate the possibility to achieve more than one regime of stationary nonlinear vibrations and how to detect them via the associated dc Josephson currents and we discuss possible applications of such a multistable nanoelectromechanical dynamics.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Thermoelectrical manipulation of nanomagnets

We investigate the interplay between the thermodynamic properties and spin-dependent transport in a mesoscopic device based on a magnetic multilayer (F/f/F), in which two strongly ferromagnetic layers (F) are exchange-coupled through a weakly ferromagnetic spacer (f) with the Curie temperature in the vicinity of room temperature. We show theoretically that the Joule heating produced by the spin-dependent current allows a spin-thermo-electronic control of the ferromagnetic-to-paramagnetic (f/N) transition in the spacer and, thereby, of the relative orientation of the outer F-layers in the device (spin-thermo-electric manipulation of nanomagnets). Supporting experimental evidence of such thermally controlled switching from parallel to antiparallel magnetization orientations in F/f(N)/F sandwiches is presented. Furthermore, we show theoretically that local Joule heating due to a high concentration of current in a magnetic point contact or a nanopillar can be used to reversibly drive the weakly ferromagnetic spacer through its Curie point and thereby exchange couple and decouple the two strongly ferromagnetic F-layers. For the devices designed to have an antiparallel ground state above the Curie point of the spacer, the associated spin-thermionic parallel-to-antiparallel switching causes magneto-resistance oscillations whose frequency can be controlled by proper biasing from essentially DC to GHz. We discuss in detail an experimental realization of a device that can operate as a thermo-magneto-resistive switch or oscillator.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

The Influence of Electro-Mechanical Effects on Resonant Electron Tunneling Through Small Carbon Nano-Peapods

The influence of a fullerene molecule trapped inside a single-wall carbon nanotube on resonant electron transport at low temperatures and strong polaronic coupling is theoretically discussed. Strong peak to peak fluctuations and anomalous temperature behavior of conductance amplitudes are predicted and investigated. The influence of the chiral properties of carbon nanotubes on transport is also studied.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Self-organization of irregular NEM vibrations in multi-mode shuttle structures

We investigate theoretically multi-mode electromechanical "shuttle" instabilities in DC voltage-biased nanoelectromechanical single-electron tunneling (NEM-SET) devices. We show that initially irregular (quasi-periodic) oscillations, that occur as a result of the simultaneous self-excitation of several mechanical modes with incommensurable frequencies, self-organize into periodic oscillations with a frequency corresponding to the eigenfrequency of one of the unstable modes. This effect demonstrates that a local probe can selectively excite global vibrations of extended objects.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Thermoelectrical manipulation of nano-magnets

We propose a device that can operate as a magneto-resistive switch or oscillator. The device is based on a spin-thermo-electronic control of the exchange coupling of two strong ferromagnets through a weakly ferromagnetic spacer. We show that the local Joule heating due to a high concentration of current in a magnetic point contact or a nanopillar can be used to reversibly drive the weak ferromagnet through its Curie point and thereby exchange-decouple the strongly ferromagnetic layers, which have an antiparallel ground state. Such a spin-thermionic parallel-to-antiparallel switching causes magnetoresistance oscillations where the frequency can be controlled by proper biasing from essentially DC to GHz.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Joule Heating and Current-Induced Instabilities in Magnetic Nanocontacts

We consider the electrical current through a magnetic point contact in the limit of a strong inelastic scattering of electrons. In this limit local Joule heating of the contact region plays a decisive role in determining the transport properties of the point contact. We show that if an applied constant bias voltage exceeds a critical value, the stationary state of the system is unstable, and that periodic, non-harmonic oscillations in time of both the electrical current through the contact and the local temperature in the contact region develop spontaneously. Our estimations show that the necessary experimental conditions for observing such oscillations with characteristic frequencies in the range $10^8 ÷10^9$ Hz can easily be met. We also show a possibility to manipulate upon the magnetization direction of a magnetic grain coupled through a point contact to a bulk ferromagnetic by exciting the above-mentioned thermal-electric oscillations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2006

Electronic Aharonov-Bohm Effect Induced by Quantum Vibrations

Mechanical displacements of a nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) shift the electron trajectories and hence perturb phase coherent charge transport through the device. We show theoretically that in the presence of a magnetic feld such quantum-coherent displacements may give rise to an Aharonov-Bohm-type of effect. In particular, we demonstrate that quantum vibrations of a suspended carbon nanotube result in a positive nanotube magnetoresistance, which decreases slowly with the increase of temperature. This effect may enable one to detect quantum displacement fluctuations of a nanomechanical device.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Magnetic unipolar features in con- ductivity of point contacts between normal and ferromagnetic d-metals (Co, Ni, Fe)

In nanocontacts between normal and ferromagnetic metals (N--F) abrupt changes of the order of 1% are detected in differential resistance, dV/dI(V), versus bias voltage, V, on achieving of high current densities, ~10^9 A/cm^2. These features in dV/dI(V) are observed when the electron flow is directed from the nonmagnetic metal into the ferromagnet and connected with magnetization excitations in the ferromagnet induced by the current. Applying an external magnetic field leads to a shift of the observed features to higher biasing current, confirming the magnetic nature of the effect. Such effects are observed for the non-ballistic (not spectral) regime of current flow in the nanocontacts. Thus, the current induced magneto-conductance effects in multilayered N--F structures (nanopillars) extensively studied in the recent literature have much more general character and can be stimulated by elastic electron scattering at single N--F interfaces.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2006

Kondo Shuttling in Nanoelectromechanical Single-Electron Transistor

We investigate theoretically a mechanically assisted Kondo effect and electric charge shuttling in nanoelectromechanical single-electron transistor (NEM-SET). It is shown that the mechanical motion of the central island (a small metallic particle) with the spin results in the time dependent tunneling width which leads to effective increase of the Kondo temperature. The time-dependent oscillating Kondo temperature T_K(t) changes the scaling behavior of the differential conductance resulting in the suppression of transport in a strong coupling- and its enhancement in a weak coupling regimes. The conditions for fine-tuning of the Abrikosov-Suhl resonance and possible experimental realization of the Kondo shuttling are discussed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2005

Single-interface superconductivity in two-layer semiconductor heterostructures

We have discovered superconductivity in the two-layer semiconducting monochalcogenide heterostrutures PbTe/PbS, PbTe/PbSe and PbTe/YbS. By comparing data from two-layer samples with data from single monochalcogenide films we conclude that the superconductivity is connected with the interface between the two semiconductors. Evidence for the low dimensional nature of the superconducting interlayer is presented and a model that explains the appearance of single-interface superconductivity is proposed.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2005

Spectroscopy of phonons and spin torques in magnetic point contacts

Phonon spectroscopy is used to investigate the mechanism of current-induced spin torques in nonmagnetic/ferromagnetic (N/F) point contacts. Magnetization excitations observed in the magneto-conductance of the point contacts are pronounced for diffusive and thermal contacts, where the electrons experience significant scattering in the contact region. We find no magnetic excitations in highly ballistic contacts. Our results show that impurity scattering at the N/F interface is the origin of the new single-interface spin torque effect.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗