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The design and realization of a cryogenic rig for point-contact spectroscopy measurements in the needle-anvil configuration is presented. Thanks to the use of two piezoelectric nano-positioners, the tip can move along the vertical (z) and horizontal (x) direction and thus the rig is suitable to probe different regions of a sample in situ. Moreover, it can also form double point-contacts on different facets of a single crystal for achieving, e.g., an interferometer configuration for phase-sensitive measurements. For the later purpose, the sample holder can also host a Helmholtz coil for applying a small transverse magnetic field to the junction. A semi-rigid coaxial cable can be easily added for studying the behavior of Josephson junctions under microwave irradiation. The rig can be detached from the probe and thus used with different cryostats. The performance of this new probe has been tested in a Quantum Design PPMS system by conducting point-contact Andreev reflection measurements on Nb thin films over large areas as a function of temperature and magnetic field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the design and implementation of an instrument for spectroscopic studies of materials at sub-terahertz (THz) frequencies at temperatures down to 340 mK. We achieved consistent operation under these rather extreme conditions by coupling a modified Martin–Puplett interferometer to a single cryogenic unit housing two independently controlled He-3 platforms: one as a sample stage and the other for bolometric detectors. Both the optical scheme of the interferometer and detector layout are tailored for the use of the two-channel data acquisition mode which is especially advantageous for measurement of absolute values of reflectance as well as for high-resolution spectroscopy. We document the reliable performance of the sub-THz apparatus with several experiments exploring electrodynamics of both conventional and high-T[sub c] superconductors. © 2003 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface chemical modification is used to eliminate the problem of high surface recombination velocity and control surface band bending on InAs(100). Alkanethiols, RSH; R=CH3(CH2)n , both neat and in ethanolic solutions, are used to passivate this surface against oxidation, as characterized by Raman scattering and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of the adsorbate-covered and bare surfaces. The magnitude of the interfacial band bending is obtained by analysis of Raman scattering from the unscreened longitudinal optical phonon, which arises from the near-surface charge accumulation region. Removing the native oxide with a Br2:CH3OH chemomechanical etch reduces the surface band bending, but atmospheric oxidation increases band bending to its original level over several hours. In contrast, alkanethiol passivation of InAs(100) prevents band bending for periods of up to several weeks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use point-contact spectroscopy (PCS) to probe AEFe2As2 (AE = Ca, Sr, Ba) and Fe1+yTe. For AE = Sr,Ba we detect orbital fluctuations above Ts while for AE = Ca these fluctuations start below Ts- Co doping preserves the orbital fluctuations while K doping suppresses it. The fluctuations are only seen at those dopings and temperatures where an in-plane resistive anisotropy is known to exist. We predict an in-plane resistive anisotropy of Fe1+yTe above Ts. Our data are examined in light of the recent work by Lee and Phillips (arXiv; 1110.5917v2). We also study how joule heating in the PCS junctions impacts the spectra. Spectroscopic information is only obtained from those PCS junctions that are free of heating effects while those PCS junctions that are in the thermal regime display bulk resistivity phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]