Thursday, March 21, 2013

1303.4985 (H. Cabrera et al.)

Scale invariance of a diodelike tunnel junction    [PDF]

H. Cabrera, D. A. Zanin, L. G. De Pietro, Th. Michaels, P. Thalmann, U. Ramsperger, A. Vindigni, D. Pescia, A. Kyritsakis, J. P. Xanthakis, Fuxiang Li, Ar. Abanov
We measure the current vs voltage (I-V) characteristics of a diodelike tunnel junction consisting of a sharp metallic tip placed at a variable distance d from a planar collector and emitting electrons via electric-field assisted emission. All curves collapse onto one single graph when I is plotted as a function of the single scaling variable Vd^{-\lambda}, d being varied from a few mm to a few nm, i.e., by about six orders of magnitude. We provide an argument that finds the exponent {\lambda} within the singular behavior inherent to the electrostatics of a sharp tip. A simulation of the tunneling barrier for a realistic tip reproduces both the scaling behavior and the small but significant deviations from scaling observed experimentally.
View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1303.4985

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