Temperature dependence of the nonlocal voltage in an Fe/GaAs electrical spin injection device

The nonlocal spin resistance is measured as a function of temperature in a Fe/GaAs spin-injection device. For nonannealed samples that show minority-spin injection, the spin resistance is observed up to room temperature and decays exponentially with temperature at a rate of 0.018\,K$^{-1}$. Post-growth annealing at 440\,K increases the spin signal at low temperatures, but the decay rate also increases to 0.030\,K$^{-1}$. From measurements of the diffusion constant and the spin lifetime in the GaAs channel, we conclude that sample annealing modifies the temperature dependence of the spin transfer efficiency at injection and detection contacts. Surprisingly, the spin transfer efficiency increases in samples that exhibit minority-spin injection.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

In-plane gate single-electron transistor in Ga[Al]As fabricated by scanning probe lithography

A single-electron transistor has been realized in a Ga[Al]As heterostructure by oxidizing lines in the GaAs cap layer with an atomic force microscope. The oxide lines define the boundaries of the quantum dot, the in-plane gate electrodes, and the contacts of the dot to source and drain. Both the number of electrons in the dot as well as its coupling to the leads can be tuned with an additional, homogeneous top gate electrode. Pronounced Coulomb blockade oscillations are observed as a function of voltages applied to different gates. We find that, for positive top-gate voltages, the lithographic pattern is transferred with high accuracy to the electron gas. Furthermore, the dot shape does not change significantly when in-plane voltages are tuned.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Transport through the intertube link between two parallel carbon nanotubes

Quantum transport through the junction between two metallic carbon nanotubes connected by intertube links has been studied within the TB method and Landauer formula. It is found that the conductance oscillates with both of the coupling strength and length. The corresponding local density of states (LDOS) is clearly shown and can be used to explain the reason why there are such kinds of oscillations of the conductances, which should be noted in the design of nanotube-based devices.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Fano effect in a ring-dot system with tunable coupling

Transport measurements are presented on a quantum ring that is tunnel-coupled to a quantum dot. When the dot is in the Coulomb blockade regime, but strongly coupled to the open ring, Fano line shapes are observed in the current through the ring, when the electron number in the dot changes by one. The symmetry of the Fano resonances is found to depend on the magnetic flux penetrating the area of the ring and on the strength of the ring-dot coupling. At temperatures above T=0.65 K the Fano effect disappears while the Aharonov-Bohm interference in the ring persists up to T=4.2 K. Good agreement is found between these experimental observations and a single channel scattering matrix model including decoherence in the dot.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Wood ash treatment affects seasonal N fluctuations in needles of adult Picea abies trees: a 15N-tracer study

A 15N-tracer experiment was carried out in a stand of adult spruce trees [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] located on the Swiss Plateau in order to investigate the effects of wood ash treatment on seasonal nitrogen fluctuations in fine roots and needles. Treatments included irrigation (W), liquid fertilization (LF) and wood ash (A) application. 15N fluctuation in fine roots and current to 3-year-old needles was studied after one 15N pulse for 2consecutive years (1999, 2000). 15N tracer was rapidly incorporated into the fine roots of adult trees, and δ15N values reached similar levels in all treatments 2months after the pulse. In the needles, the largest increase in δ15N was observed in those of the current year. Following the initial peak during spring growth, δ15N values in needles of control trees showed an oscillating pattern through the season. This oscillation is attributed to the increased use of internal N sources, as soon as the roots can no longer meet the increased N demand during the sprouting phase. However, W-, LF- and A-treated trees no longer showed the oscillation in δ15N. Additional water (W and LF) as well as fertilizer (A and LF) may have induced shifts in the microbial flora, thus increasing the unlabelled N release from the soil. The strongest dampening was observed for the A treatment, indicating sufficient N availability from the soil, and making intensive use of the internal N sources unnecessary. Treatment with wood ash thus resulted in a similar fertilizer response to liquid fertilizatio

Localization, Coulomb interactions and electrical heating in single-wall carbon nanotubes/polymer composites

Low field and high field transport properties of carbon nanotubes/polymer composites are investigated for different tube fractions. Above the percolation threshold f_c=0.33%, transport is due to hopping of localized charge carriers with a localization length xi=10-30 nm. Coulomb interactions associated with a soft gap Delta_CG=2.5 meV are present at low temperature close to f_c. We argue that it originates from the Coulomb charging energy effect which is partly screened by adjacent bundles. The high field conductivity is described within an electrical heating scheme. All the results suggest that using composites close to the percolation threshold may be a way to access intrinsic properties of the nanotubes by experiments at a macroscopic scale.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, Submitted to Phys. Rev.