STM control of noninteger residual charge Q/sub 0/ on the central electrode of a double-tunnel junction

Abstract

In a voltage-biased mesoscopic double-tunnel junction, the Coulomb threshold V/sub C/ is an e-periodic function of Q/sub 0/, the charge on the inner electrode. In the STM work described here, a large Au tip images 100-AA Ag particles deposited on a cleaved BSCCO crystal substrate. Stable double junctions between the tip, the imaged particle, and the substrate are identified by Coulomb staircase I(V)'s. The control of Q/sub 0/ is demonstrated by the variation of tip-particle spacing. The parameterization of such results permits a discussion of Q/sub 0/ variation mechanisms.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>