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The formation and rupture of atomic-sized contacts is modelled by means of molecular dynamics simulations. Such nano-contacts are realized in scanning tunnelling microscope and mechanically controlled break junction experiments. These…
Understanding the transport characteristics at the atomic limit is the prerequisite for futuristic nano-electronic applications. Among various experimental procedures, mechanically controllable break junction (MCBJ) is one of the well…
To develop next-generation electronics and high efficiency energy-harvesting devices, it is crucial to understand how charge and heat are transported at the nanoscale. Metallic atomic-size contacts are ideal systems to probe the quantum…
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…
We have studied experimentally the phenomena of jump-to-contact (JC) and jump-out-of-contact (JOC) in gold electrodes. JC can be observed at the first contact when the two metals approach each other while JOC occurs in the last contact…
Despite extensive investigations of dissipation and deformation processes in micro- and nano- sized metallic samples, the mechanisms at play during deformation of systems with ultimate, molecular size remain elusive. While metallic…
Break junctions provide tip-shaped contact electrodes that are fundamental components of nano and molecular electronics. However, the fabrication of break junctions remains notoriously time-consuming and difficult to parallelize. Here we…
Electrochemical methods have recently become an interesting tool for fabricating and characterizing nanostructures at room temperature. Simplicity, low cost and reversibility are some of the advantages of this technique that allows to work…
Here presented a systematic study of superconductor-constriction-superconductor contacts realized by a break-junction technique in layered superconductors. Depending on the constriction transparency the tunneling and SnS-Andreev…
Using a scanning tunneling microscope or mechanically controllable break junctions it has been shown that it is possible to control the formation of a wire made of single gold atoms. In these experiments an interatomic distance between…
A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) supplemented with a force sensor is used to study the mechanical properties of a novel metallic nanostructure: a freely suspended chain of single gold atoms. We find that the bond strength of the…
Understanding the formation of metal-molecule contact at the microscopic level is the key towards controlling and manipulating atomic scale devices. Employing two isomers of bipyridine, $4, 4^\prime$ bipyridine and $2, 2^\prime$ bipyridine…
Electrical conductance through various nanocontacts between gold electrodes is studied by using the density functional theory, scalar-relativistic pseudopotentials, generalized gradient approximation for the exchange-correlation energy and…
Pairs of electrodes with nanometer separation (nano-gap) are achieved through an electromigration-induced break-junction (EIBJ) technique at room temperature. Lithographically defined gold (Au) wires are formed by e-beam evaporation over…
We present a study of the elongation and rupture of gold-silver alloy nanowires. Atomistic details of the evolution were derived from time-resolved atomic resolution transmission electron microscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. The…
Metal-string complexes in the quasi-1D framework may play an important role in molecular electronics by serving not only as nanoscale interconnects but also as active functional elements for nanoelectronic devices. However, because of the…
We develop a computational method for evaluating the damping of vibrational modes in mono-atomic metallic chains suspended between bulk crystals under external strain. The damping is due to the coupling between the chain and contact modes…
We present ab initio calculations of transport properties of atomic-sized aluminum contacts in the presence of oxygen. The experimental situation is modeled by considering a single oxygen atom (O) or one of the molecules O2 and O3 bridging…
Atomically thin metallic chains serve as pivotal systems for studying quantum transport, with their conductance strongly linked to the orbital picture. Here, we report a non-monotonic electro-mechanical response in a gold-ferrocene…
The continuing miniaturization of microelectronics raises the prospect of nanometre-scale devices with mechanical and electrical properties that are qualitatively different from those at larger dimensions. The investigation of these…