Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
ACS Nano. 2012 Apr 24;6(4):2871-6. doi: 10.1021/nn301323u. Epub 2012 Apr 6.
Mechanical break junctions, particularly those in which a metal tip is repeatedly moved in and out of contact with a metal film, have provided many insights into electronic conduction at the atomic and molecular scale, most often by averaging over many possible junction configurations. This averaging throws away a great deal of information, and Makk et al. in this issue of ACS Nano demonstrate that, with both simulated and real experimental data, more sophisticated two-dimensional analysis methods can reveal information otherwise obscured in simple histograms. As additional measured quantities come into play in break junction experiments, including thermopower, noise, and optical response, these more sophisticated analytic approaches are likely to become even more powerful. While break junctions are not directly practical for useful electronic devices, they are incredibly valuable tools for unraveling the electronic transport physics relevant for ultrascaled nanoelectronics.
机械断键结，特别是那些金属探针反复进出金属膜的断键结，为原子和分子尺度的电子传导提供了许多见解，通常是通过对许多可能的键结结构进行平均化处理。这种平均化处理丢弃了大量信息，而 Makk 等人在本期 ACS Nano 中证明，通过模拟和真实实验数据，更复杂的二维分析方法可以揭示在简单直方图中被掩盖的信息。随着在断键实验中加入更多的测量量，包括热电势、噪声和光响应，这些更复杂的分析方法可能会变得更加强大。虽然断键结对于有用的电子设备来说并不直接实用，但它们是解开与超小型纳米电子学相关的电子输运物理的非常有价值的工具。
