AVS 62nd International Symposium & Exhibition
    Scanning Probe Microscopy Focus Topic Wednesday Sessions
       Session SP+2D+AS+NS+SS-WeA

Paper SP+2D+AS+NS+SS-WeA12
Correlated STM and Electron Transport Study of Individual Nanowires down to Atomic Scale

Wednesday, October 21, 2015, 6:00 pm, Room 212A

Session: Probing Electronic and Transport Properties
Presenter: Shengyong Qin, University of Science and Technology of China
Authors: S. Qin, University of Science and Technology of China
T.H. Kim, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Y. Zhang, University of California, Irvine
R. Wu, University of California, Irvine
H.H. Weitering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
C.K. Shih, The University of Texas at Austin
A.-P. Li, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Correspondent: Click to Email
The electronic conductance in quantum wires is often dictated by quantum instabilities and strong localization at the atomic scale. We present a novel nano-transport technique which combines local nano-contacts and four-probe STM. The approach allows for correlated study of electron transport and scanning tunneling spectroscopy in individual nanowires. We first apply it to the GdSi2 quantum wires, which show that isolated nanowires exhibit a metal-insulator transition upon cooling, driven by the defect-induced localizations, while wire bundles maintain a robust metallic state, stabilized by interwire electronic coupling. We then demonstrate applications of this transport technique with cabon nanotubes and copper wires in situ. The method bridges the gap between the transport and the local electronic and structural properties down to the atomic scale.