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A re-entrant behavior of electron shuttling is shown to occur in a nanoelectromechanical transistor made of magnetic material where spin-polarized electrons are injected into a quantum dot with a single electron level split into two by an external magnetic field. A suppression of shuttle vibrations occurs at a certain value of a bias voltage that starts to allow for transport also through the upper energy level of the dot, while for a further increase of the voltage shuttling recovers. The effect is due to a time-dependent polaronic shift of the dot energy level, which results in a reduction of the supply of electric power to the mechanical motion.

The spin-orbit interaction is a key tool for manipulating and functionalizing spin-dependent electron transport. However, the precise value of the spin-orbit coupling constant is hard to determine and control. Here we propose a measurement of the geometric (Aharonov-Casher) phase of the electron wavefunction generated by the spin-orbit coupling as a means to deduce the spin-orbit coupling strength in weak links. Unlike other proposed measurements of geometric phases, which rely on interference, we show that the anisotropy of the magnetoconductance, measured at different directions of an external magnetic field,is determined by the geometric phase. Specifically we consider weak links in which the Rashba interaction is caused by an external electric field, but our method is expected to apply also for other forms of the spin-orbit coupling. Measuring this magnetoconductance anisotropy thus allows calibrating Rashba spintronic devices by an external electric field that tunes the spin-orbit interaction., Comment: Published version

We consider resonant electron tunneling in various nanostructures, including single-wall carbon nanotubes, molecular transistors, and quantum wires, formed in two-dimensional electron gas. The review starts with a textbook description of resonant tunneling of noninteracting electrons through a double-barrier structure. The effects of electron–electron interaction in sequential and resonant electron tunneling are studied by using the Luttinger liquid model of electron transport in quantum wires. The experimental aspects of the problem (fabrication of quantum wires and transport measurements) are also considered. The influence of vibrational and electromechanical effects on resonant electron tunneling in molecular transistors is discussed.

We have theoretically investigated electromechanical properties of freely suspended carbon nanotubes when a current is injected into the tubes using a scanning tunneling microscope. We show that a shuttle-like electromechanical instability can occur if the bias voltage exceeds a dissipation-dependent threshold value. An instability results in large amplitude vibrations of the carbon nanotube bending mode, which modify the current-voltage characteristics of the system.

The possible mechanisms of superconductivity and of the increase in the critical temperature Tc of the phase transition into the superconducting state in doped cubic and hexagonal C60 fullerine crystals are analyzed. It is shown that the intramolecular Jahn–Teller vibrations (which are due to the high symmetry of C60 molecules and fullerene crystals and arise as a result of a change in the charge state of fullerene in an electron-phonon interaction), the degeneracy (multivalley nature) of the structure of narrow bands with a high density of states, and multiparticle Coulomb correlations such as local field effects (which increase the coupling constant in Cooper pariing of current carriers) all play a key role in the mechanism of superconductivity in this molecular metal.

The dc current through a voltage-biased long transparent SNS junction in a dissipative regime is considered. The problem under certain conditions is mapped onto exactly solvable model of energy pumping into a quasiballistic 1D quantum ring driven by time-dependent magnetic flux. A rich peak-like structure of the subgap current at low voltages is predicted. The maxima in the current correspond to resonant energy absorption for fractional values of the normalized bias voltage.

Josephson junctions with a ferromagnetic metal weak link reveal a very strong decrease of the critical current compared to a normal metal weak link. We demonstrate that in the ballistic regime the presence of a small region with a non-collinear magnetization near the center of a ferromagnetic weak link restores the critical current inherent to the normal metal. The above effect can be stimulated by additional electrical bias of the magnetic gate which induces a local electron depletion of ferromagnetic barrier. The underlying physics of the effect is the interference phenomena due to the magnetic scattering of the Cooper pair, which reverses its total momentum in the ferromagnet and thus compensates the phase gain before and after the spin-reversed scattering. In contrast with the widely discussed triplet long ranged proximity effect we elucidate a new singlet long ranged proximity effect. This phenomenon opens a way to easily control the properties of SFS junctions and inversely to manipulate the magnetic moment via the Josephson current., Scientific Reports, in press [18 pages, 7 figures]

The thermodynamic properties of a mesoscopic-size, simply connected cylindrical normal metal in good metallic contact with superconducting banks are studied theoretically. It is commonly accepted that if the superconductor thickness is quite small (of the order of the coherence length), as is assumed to be the case here, a vector potential field, whose value can be varied, exists inside the normal layer. It is further assumed that the quasiparticles with energy E

We show that quantum spin fluctuations in inhomogeneous conducting ferromagnets drastically affect the Andreev reflection of electrons and holes at a ferromagnet–superconductor interface. As a result, a strong long-range proximity effect appears, associated with electron–hole spin triplet correlations and persisting on a length scale typical for nonmagnetic materials but anomalously large for ferromagnets. For applications, an important consequence is that this long-range proximity effect permits the creation of superconducting quantum interference devices with magnetic Josephson junctions of anomalously large length.

We show that quantum spin fluctuations in inhomogeneous ferromagnets drastically affect the Andreev reflection of electrons and holes at a ferromagnet-superconductor interface. As a result a strong long-range proximity effect appears, associated with electron-hole spin triplet correlations and persisting on a lenght scale typical for non-magnetic materials, but anomalously large for ferromagnets., 4 pages, 2 figures

A theoretical study is made of the temperature of the electron subsystem in a microcontact as a function of the applied voltage. It is shown that in microcontacts whose characteristic linear dimension is of the order of several lattice constants (nanocontacts) a breakdown of thermodynamic equilibrium between the electrons and phonons occurs at high applied voltages. Then the temperature of the electron subsystem is a linear function of the applied voltage, and its absolute magnitude can reach values of the order of the Fermi energy. These results agree with recent experimental data.

A single-electron tunneling (SET) device with a nanoscale central island that can move with respect to the bulk source- and drain electrodes allows for a nanoelectromechanical (NEM) coupling between the electrical current through the device and mechanical vibrations of the island. Although an electromechanical "shuttle" instability and the associated phenomenon of single-electron shuttling were predicted more than 15 years ago, both theoretical and experimental studies of NEM-SET structures are still carried out. New functionalities based on quantum coherence, Coulomb correlations and coherent electron-spin dynamics are of particular current interest. In this article we present a short review of recent activities in this area.

International audience; We study the novel interference mechanism of the long-range proximity effect in superconductor/ferromagnet/superconductor (SFS) structures in the ballistic regime. Even a small non-collinear magnetic domain near the center of a ferromagnetic weak link is shown to restore the singlet supercurrent inherent to the normal metal. The underlying physics of the effect is the magnetic scattering of the Cooper pair by the domain, which reverses total momentum of the pair in the ferromagnet and thus compensates the phase gain before and after the spin-flip scattering. The above phenomenon opens a way to easily control the properties of SFS junctions and, inversely, to manipulate the magnetic moment via the Josephson current.

A thermal-magnetic-electric valve with the free layer of exchange-spring type and inverse magnetoresistance is investigated. The structure has S-shaped current-voltage characteristics and can exhibit spontaneous oscillations when integrated with a conventional capacitor within a resonator circuit. The frequency of the oscillations can be controlled from essentially dc to the GHz range by the circuit capacitance.

In nanocontacts between normal and ferromagnetic metals (N--F) abrupt changes of the order of 1% are detected in differential resistance, dV/dI(V), versus bias voltage, V, on achieving of high current densities, ~10^9 A/cm^2. These features in dV/dI(V) are observed when the electron flow is directed from the nonmagnetic metal into the ferromagnet and connected with magnetization excitations in the ferromagnet induced by the current. Applying an external magnetic field leads to a shift of the observed features to higher biasing current, confirming the magnetic nature of the effect. Such effects are observed for the non-ballistic (not spectral) regime of current flow in the nanocontacts. Thus, the current induced magneto-conductance effects in multilayered N--F structures (nanopillars) extensively studied in the recent literature have much more general character and can be stimulated by elastic electron scattering at single N--F interfaces.

We consider the electrical current through a magnetic point contact in the limit of a strong inelastic scattering of electrons. In this limit local Joule heating of the contact region plays a decisive role in determining the transport properties of the point contact. We show that if an applied constant bias voltage exceeds a critical value, the stationary state of the system is unstable, and that periodic, non-harmonic oscillations in time of both the electrical current through the contact and the local temperature in the contact region develop spontaneously. Our estimations show that the necessary experimental conditions for observing such oscillations with characteristic frequencies in the range $10^8 \div 10^9$ Hz can easily be met. We also show a possibility to manipulate upon the magnetization direction of a magnetic grain coupled through a point contact to a bulk ferromagnetic by exciting the above-mentioned thermal-electric oscillations., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Physical Review B

We consider the energy stored in a one-dimensional ballistic ring with a barrier subject to a linearly time-dependent magnetic flux. An exact analytic solution for the quantum dynamics of electrons in the ring is found for the case when the electro-motive force ${\cal E}$ is much smaller than the level spacing, $\Delta$. Electron states exponentially localized in energy are found for irrational values of the ratio $A\equiv\Delta/2e{\cal E}$. Relaxation limits the dynamic evolution and localization does not develop if $A$ is sufficiently close to a rational number. As a result the accumulated energy becomes a regular function of $A$ containing a set of sharp peaks at rational values (fractional pumping). The shape of the peaks and the distances between them are governed by the interplay between the strength of backscattering and the relaxation rate., Comment: 4 pages, LaTex (RevTeX), 2 figures in eps-format, to appear in Physical Review Letters

We show that Aharonov-Bohm (AB) oscillations in the magnetic moment of an integrable ballistic quantum dot can be destroyed by a time dependent magnetic flux. The effect is due to a nonequilibrium population of perfectly coherent electronic states. For real ballistic systems the equilibrization process, which involves a special type of inelastic electron backscattering, can be so ineffective, that AB oscillations are suppressed when the flux varies with frequency $\omega\sim$ 10$^7$-10$^8$ s$^{-1}$. The effect can be used to measure relaxation times for inelastic backscattering., Comment: 11 pages LaTeX v3.14 with RevTeX v3.0, 3 post script figures available on request, APR 93-X21

We present a novel design for a single-mode, truly sub-wavelength THz disk laser based on a nano-composite gain medium comprising an array of metal/ferromagnetic point contacts embedded in a thin dielectric layer. Stimulated emission of light occurs in the point contacts as a result of spin-flip relaxation of spin-polarized electrons that are injected from the ferromagnetic side of the contacts. Ultra-high electrical current densities in the contacts and a dielectric material with a large refractive index, neither condition being achievable in conventional semiconductor media, allows the thresholds of lasing to be overcome for the lowest-order modes of the disk, hence making single-mode operation possible., 9 pages,4 figures

Polaronic effects on the Josephson current through a vibrating quantum dot are considered. In the regime of strong electron–vibron interactions they lead to a power-law suppression of the critical current. This is manifested in an anomalous temperature dependence of the critical current at temperatures of the order of the polaronic energy shift.