Electronic shell effects and the stability of alkali nanowires

Authors :: Urban, D.F.
Bürki, J.
Yanson, A.I.
Yanson, I.K.
Stafford, C.A.
van Ruitenbeek, J.M.
Grabert, Hermann
Source :: Solid State Communications. Sep2004, Vol. 131 Issue 9/10, p609-614. 6p.
Publication Year :: 2004
Abstract: Experimental conductance histograms for Na nanowires are analyzed in detail and compared to recent theoretical results on the stability of cylindrical and elliptical nanowires, using the free-electron model. We find a one-to-one correspondence between the peaks in the histograms and the most stable nanowire geometries, indicating that several of the commonly observed nanowires have elliptical cross sections. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]