Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Physikalisches Institut, Karlsruhe, Germany.
Nano Lett. 2011 Feb 9;11(2):574-8. doi: 10.1021/nl103574m. Epub 2010 Dec 20.
The electrical conductance G of mechanical break-junctions fabricated from the rare-earth metal dysprosium has been investigated at 4.2 K where Dy is in the ferromagnetic state. In addition to the usual variation of the conductance while breaking the wire mechanically, the conductance can be changed reproducibly by variation of the magnetic field H, due to the large magnetostriction of Dy. For a number of contacts, we observe discrete changes in G(H) in the range of several G(0) = 2e(2)/h. The behavior of G(H) and its angular dependence can be quantitatively understood by taking into account the magnetostrictive properties of Dy. This realization of a magnetostrictive few-atom switch demonstrates the possibility of reproducibly tuning the conductance of magnetic nanocontacts by a magnetic field.
研究了在 4.2 K 下由稀土金属镝机械断裂形成的机械断接处的电导率 G，此时 Dy 处于铁磁状态。除了在机械断裂金属丝时电导通常会发生变化外，由于 Dy 的大磁致伸缩性，通过磁场 H 的变化，电导也可以重复地发生变化。对于一些接触点，我们在几个 G(0) = 2e(2)/h 的范围内观察到 G(H)的离散变化。通过考虑 Dy 的磁致伸缩特性，可以定量地理解 G(H)的行为及其角依赖性。这种磁致伸缩少原子开关的实现证明了通过磁场可重复地调节磁性纳米接触的电导的可能性。
