Nanoresonators: Shock value : Article : Nature Nanotechnology
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Nature Nanotechnology
Published online: 1 February 2008 | doi:10.1038/nnano.2008.33
Subject Category: Electronic properties and devices (/nnano/archive/nnano_s3_current_archive.html)
Nanoresonators: Shock value
Jessica Thomas
Electrons go surfing on acoustic shock waves in semiconductors
Scientists in Germany and the US have been making waves in a sea of sorts — an
electron sea — to find out if electrons can 'surf' on sound waves. Robert Blick of the
University of Wisconsin and co-workers sent acoustic shock waves through a
nanoscale resonator to see if it would generate an electric current1 (#B1) .
When acoustic waves travel through a solid, they generate compressive strain, and
this strain gives rise to an electric field in some materials. Blick and co-workers
wanted to know if a standing acoustic wave could give rise to a measurable current in
a nanoscale solid, where quantum effects may be important.
© 2008 APS
The team used two transducers to generate an acoustic wave along the surface of a suspended strip of
gallium arsenide in which the electrons were confined in a so-called two-dimensional electron gas. When
the acoustic wave was sent along the strip, a small current, of the order of a few nanoamps, was generated at
the same frequency.
Although the detection of such an 'acousto-current' in a nanoresonator may sound like just a curiosity, Blick
and colleagues expect that these types of measurements may ultimately lead to improved standards for
electrical current.
REFERENCE
1. Beil, F. W. et al. Shock waves in nanomechanical resonators. Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 026801
(2008). | Article (http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.026801) |
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14.03.2008 9:47 Uhr