Thermal collapse of spin polarization in half-metallic ferromagnets

We propose two novel approaches to study the temperature dependence of the magnetization and the spin polarization at the Fermi level in magnetic compounds, and apply them to half-metallic ferromagnets. We reveal a new mechanism, where the hybridization of states forming the half-metallic gap depends on thermal spin fluctuations and the polarization can drop abruptly at temperatures much lower than the Curie point. We verify this for NiMnSb by ab initio calculations. The thermal properties are studied by mapping ab initio results to an extended Heisenberg model which includes longitudinal fluctuations and is solved by a Monte Carlo method.     

Current-voltage characteristics for a Peierls-conducting point contact

Current-voltage (J-V) and differential-conductivity-voltage ( dJ/dV-V) characteristics are analytically calculated at zero temperature for a point contact consisting of: two Peierls conductors P ( = 1, 2) separated by an insulator (I). Here P is a conductor with charge density wave (CDW). The J-V and dJ/dV-V characteristics depend on the CDW phases ( = 1, 2) in the mean field approximation. To calculate them analytically we assumed, = ≡Δ where ( = 1, 2) are the energy gaps of P ( = 1, 2). The current J has a discontinuous jump at eV = 2Δ for ϕ ₁ = ϕ ₂≠ 0. The differential conductivity dJ/dV has a singularity at eV = 2Δ for ϕ ₁ = ϕ ₂≠ 0. The relation J(V,ϕ ₁,ϕ ₂) = - J(- V,ϕ ₁ + π,ϕ ₂ + π) is obtained. Received 4 July 2001 and Received in final form 13 September 2001     

Current-voltage characteristics of a non-transferred plasma spray torch

I–V characteristics of a non-transferred DC plasma spray torch operating on argon and argon + nitrogen mixtures are reported. Arc voltage is decreased with increase in arc current and increased with increase in electrode gap. Arc power is higher at higher percentage of nitrogen in argon. Nottingham co-efficients were calculated using numerical method.     

Current-voltage characteristics of a gas field ion source

Current-voltage characteristics of a gas field ion source (GFIS) have been measured for hydrogen and all rare gases. The parameter set included tip temperature, tip radius and gas temperature and pressure. This investigation has been made to get a complete overview of the field ion currents (FIC) and to estimate the maximum currents in a GFIS, which have been found to a few 100 nA. This estimate allows also a feasibility study of a GFIS, modified by a supertip, a small protuberance on the emitter surface.     

Current-voltage characteristics of type-II superconductors

For a wide range of samples and conditions the I-V characteristic of type-II superconductors fits the expression V ∞ (I-I_p)² (I-αI_p)⁻¹. The initial non-linearity is attributed to the fact that the fluxons do not move with uniform velocity.     

Current-voltage characteristics of porous-silicon structures

Summary I–V DC characteristics have been measured on metal/ porous-silicon structures. In particular, the measurements on metal/ free-standing porous-silicon film/metal devices confirmed the result, already obtained, that the metal/poroussilicon interface plays a crucial role in the transport of any device. Four-contacts measurements on free-standing layers showed that the current linearly depends on the voltage and that the conduction process is thermally activated, the activtion energy depending on the porous silicon film production parameters. Finally, annealing experiments performed in order to improve the conduction of rectifiyng contacts, are described. Paper presented at the III INSEL (Incontro Nazionale sul Silicio Emettitore di Luce), Torino, 12–13 October 1995     

Current-voltage characteristics of a metal-semiconductor contact with a Mott barrier

An analytical solution for the current-voltage characteristics of a metal-semiconductor contact with a Mott barrier is derived with allowance made for the space charge of carriers in the n ⁺-i junction. The main assumption used in solving the Poisson equation is that the bulk doping of the i layer is ignored. The dependences of the electric current on the voltage are calculated for the characteristic cases of the thermionic emission and diffusion mechanisms of charge transfer. In contrast to the classical Mott result, the inclusion of the space charge of carriers in the calculation limits the increase in the electric current at a forward bias and decreases the nonlinearity of the current-voltage characteristics.     

Current-voltage characteristics of double-strand DNA sequences

We use a tight-binding formulation to investigate the transmissivity and the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of sequences of double-strand DNA molecules. In order to reveal the relevance of the underlying correlations in the nucleotides distribution, we compare the results for the genomic DNA sequence with those of artificial sequences (the long-range correlated Fibonacci and Rudin-Shapiro one) and a random sequence, which is a kind of prototype of a short-range correlated system. The random sequence is presented here with the same first neighbors pair correlations of the human DNA sequence. We found that the long-range character of the correlations is important to the transmissivity spectra, although the I-V curves seem to be mostly influenced by the short-range correlations.     

Current-voltage characteristics of charge-ordered organic crystals

The current-voltage characteristics of layered organic crystals theta-(BEDT-TTF)2MZn(SCN)4 (M = Cs, Rb) follow the power law with a large exponent (e.g., 8.4 at 0.29 K for M = Cs) over a wide range of currents in the low-temperature insulating state. The power-law characteristics are attributed to electric field-induced unbinding of electron-hole pairs that are thermally excited in the background of the two-dimensional charge order. The magnitude of crossover electric fields from Ohmic to the power-law characteristics indicates that the electron-electron Coulomb interaction is significantly long-ranged: The screening length is greater than 10 molecule sites.     

Current-voltage characteristics of radiating Josephson sandwich

Josephson sandwich is considered, along which the radiating chain of vortices travels. Uniform movement of the chain is supported by bias current. The current-voltage characteristic connecting this current with the voltage at the Josephson junction is found. It is shown that when the current increases, generation of electromagnetic waves with frequency weakly dependent on the current is possible.     

Current-voltage characteristics of diodes based on a four-component chalcogenide glass

An experimental study was made of film diodes based on a chalcogenide glass with symmetric and asymmetric electrodes and with two lower symmetric electrodes. Film diodes with aluminum electrodes can be used as varistors. The electrodes affect the shape of the current-voltage characteristics. Diodes having two lower electrodes have a longer useful lifetime than do those having an upper electrode and a lower one. Generation in the negative-resistance region is described.Translated from Izvestiya VUZ. Fizika, No. 12, pp. 30–33, December, 1969.The author thanks P. T. Oreshkin for constant interest in this study.     

Current-voltage characteristics of large Josephson tunnel junctions

An analytic expression of dc supercurrents through large Josephson tunnel junctions in the presence of both a dc voltage and a dc magnetic field is obtained. The magnetic field dependence of the calculated dc supercurrents is reasonably consistent with experiments.     

Current-voltage characteristics of a new type of superconducting thin film bridge

Well defined critical current and current hysteresis are observed for a new type of superconducting bridge fabricated using a shadowing technique to vary the film thickness.     

Current-voltage characteristics of metal-variband organic semiconductor-organic semiconductor-metal heterostructures

The current-voltage characteristics of nickel-Se_1–xTe_x-organic semiconductorgold (aluminum) heterostructures and the dependence of these characteristics on the temperature and illumination have been investigated. The Se_1–xTe_x layer is a a variband structure with a band-gap gradient of up to 4.l0⁴ eV/cm. A photoelectromotive force (photo-emf) and a thermoelectromotive force have been found to exist in the heterostructures studied. The mechanism of charge transfer is discussed.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 3, pp. 62–67, March, 1990.     

Current-voltage characteristics of a reflex discharge with a hollow cathode and self-heating electrode

Results are presented from experimental studies of the current-voltage characteristics of a reflex discharge with a self-heating electrode used in a source of atomic hydrogen. The processes occurring in a discharge cell and governing the main features of the characteristics obtained are investigated theoretically. An explanation of the general features of the discharge is proposed. It is shown that an abrupt decrease in the discharge voltage with increasing hydrogen flow rate is associated with penetration of the plasma into the hollow cathode and the ignition of a hollow cathode discharge. It is demonstrated that, as the discharge current increases, the glow discharge gradually transforms into an arc discharge with a heated cathode.     

Current-voltage characteristics of poly(diphenylenephthalide) thin films

Charge transfer near the threshold of polymer film transition (induced by a low uniaxial pressure) to the high-conductivity state is studied in an attempt to tackle the question of how the energy band structure of a wide-gap organic insulator varies near this threshold. The I-V characteristics of poly(diphenylenephthalide) films of various thickness versus uniaxial pressure are analyzed. The results obtained are treated within the model of space-charge-limited injection currents. The parameters of the injection model, such as the equilibrium concentration of electrons, electron mobility, the occupation of traps, etc., are estimated. It is concluded that deep traps due to an excess charge may appear in the energy gap of the polymer near the imref. This probably causes a narrow subband to arise, and charge transfer via this subband increases the charge carrier mobility and, hence, conductivity.     

Current-voltage characteristics of Au/GaN/GaAs structure

Au/GaN/n-GaAs structure has been fabricated by the electrochemically anodic nitridation method for providing an evidence of achievement of stable electronic passivation of n-doped GaAs surface. The change of the electronic properties of the GaAs surface induced by the nitridation process has been studied by means of current-voltage (I-V) characterizations on Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) shaped on gallium nitride/gallium arsenide structure. Au/GaN/n-GaAs Schottky diode that showed rectifying behavior with an ideality factor value of 2.06 and barrier height value of 0.73 eV obeys a metal-interfacial layer-semiconductor (MIS) configuration rather than an ideal Schottky diode due to the existence of GaN at the Au/GaAs interfacial layer. The formation of the GaN interfacial layer for the stable passivation of gallium arsenide surface is investigated through calculation of the interface state density N_ss with and without taking into account the series resistance R_s. While the interface state density calculated without taking into account R_s has increased exponentially with bias from 2.2×10¹² cm⁻² eV⁻¹ in (E_c−0.48) eV to 3.85×10¹² cm⁻² eV⁻¹ in (E_c−0.32) eV of n-GaAs, the N_ss obtained taking into account the series resistance has remained constant with a value of 2.2×10¹² cm⁻² eV⁻¹ in the same interval. This has been attributed to the passivation of the n-doped GaAs surface with the formation of the GaN interfacial layer.     

Current-voltage characteristics of individual conducting polymer nanotubes and nanowires

We report the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of individual polypyrrole nanotubes and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) nanowires in a temperature range from 300 K to 2 K. Considering the complex structures of such quasi-one-dimensional systems with an array of ordered conductive regions separated by disordered barriers, we use the extended fluctuation-induced tunneling (FIT) and thermal excitation model (Kaiser expression) to fit the temperature and electric-field dependent I–V curves. It is found that the I–V data measured at higher temper-atures or higher voltages can be well fitted by the Kaiser expression. However, the low-temperature data around the zero bias clearly deviate from those obtained from this model. The deviation (or zero-bias conductance suppression) could be possibly ascribed to the occurrence of the Coulomb-gap in the density of states near the Femi level and/or the enhancement of electron-electron interaction resulting from nanosize effects, which have been revealed in the previous studies on low-temperature electronic transport in conducting polymer films, pellets and nanostructures. In addition, similar I-V characteristics and deviation are also observed in an isolated K0.27MnO2 nanowire.