Dresden 2011 – scientific programme

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DS: Fachverband Dünne Schichten

DS 43: Poster II: Thin Film Chalcogenide Photovoltaics; Thermoelectric Materials, Thin Films, and Nanostructures

DS 43.7: Poster

Wednesday, March 16, 2011, 15:00–17:30, P2

Laser-induced electronic transport through electrochemically-fabricated point-contacts — •Bastian Kopp, Daniel Benner, Markus Schmotz, Zhiwei Yi, Johannes Boneberg, Paul Leiderer, and Elke Scheer — Universität Konstanz

Aim of this work is to study the effects of laser illumination on electrochemically-fabricated metallic point-contacts. By electron-beam lithography we pattern nanoscale metallic electrodes separated by a gap of roughly 500nm. This gap is then closed by electrochemical deposition of a second metal [1]. After removal of the electrolyte solution atomic-size contacts with conductance in the range of 10 to 100 G₀ are obtained. We present results measured on contacts consisting of various metal combinations including Au, Ag and Pt. We observe a distinct change of the conductance of these contacts upon laser irradiation. We study the spatial and wavelength dependence of the conductance change. The amplitude and sign of the signal depend on both the position of irradiation and the applied voltage. Our results can qualitatively be explained by thermoelectric effects with corrections for small conductance values.

[1] F.-Q. Xie, Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 128303 (2004)