Revealing thermal effects in the electronic transport through irradiated atomic metal point contacts

• Bastian Kopp,
• Zhiwei Yi,
• Daniel Benner,
• Fang-Qing Xie,
• Christian Obermair,
• Thomas Schimmel,
• Johannes Boneberg,
• Paul Leiderer and
• Elke Scheer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 703–711, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.80

• layer are the most prominent effects. Keywords: atom transistor; atomic contacts; cyclic voltammogram; electrochemically closed break junction; electronic transport; (Helmholtz) double layer; light-induced signals; temperature-induced changes; thermovoltage; Introduction Electronic transport on the

• -induced phenomenon, such as a photochemical reaction at the interface, we carried out a control experiment in which the Au layer was first irradiated from the electrolyte and then from the glass substrate side. If the effect is purely thermal, the light-induced signals for the two directions should

• about the temperature-induced changes of the Helmholtz layer. We therefore carried out voltammetric studies in order to determine the regions of the voltammogram in which the laser-induced signals are most prominent. Light-induced signals in the cyclic voltammogram of AgNO3 were observed as shown in