2008/02/29 by M. L. Trouwborst, E. H. Huisman, F. L. Bakker +3 · 1 citation
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Atom (system on chip) #Atomic physics #Break junction #Composite material #Condensed matter physics #Elasticity (physics) #Electrode #Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications #Jump #Materials science #Molecular Junctions and Nanostructures #Molecular physics #Nanotechnology #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Quantum tunnelling #Scanning tunneling microscope #Surface and Thin Film Phenomena #cond-mat.mes-hall
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.100.175502
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 175502 (2008)
arxiv created 2008/04/30 · openalex publication_date 2008/04/30 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We study the interaction between single apex atoms in a metallic contact, using the break junction geometry. By carefully training our samples, we create stable junctions in which no further atomic reorganization takes place. This allows us to study the relation between the so-called jump out of contact (from contact to tunneling regime) and jump to contact (from tunneling to contact regime) in detail. Our data can be fully understood within a relatively simple elastic model, where the elasticity k of the electrodes is the only free parameter. We find 5<k<32 N/m. Furthermore, the interaction between the two apex atoms on both electrodes, observed as a change of slope in the tunneling regime, is accounted for by the same model.