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No description available.

In this dissertation, I have studied four theoretical problems in quantum tunneling, quantum computing, and high-temperature superconductivity. I have developed a generally-useful numerical tool for analyzing impurity-induced resonant-state images observed with scanning tunneling microscope (STM) in high temperature superconductors. The integrated tunneling intensities on all predominant sites have been estimated. The results can be used to test the predictions of any tight-binding model calculation. I have numerically simulated two-dimensional time-dependent tunneling of a Gaussian wave packet through a barrier, which contains charged ions. We have found that a negative ion in the barrier directly below the tunneling tip can deflect the tunneling electrons and drastically reduce the probability for them to reach the point in the target plane directly below the tunneling tip. I have studied an infinite family of sure-success quantum algorithms, which are introduced by C.-R. Hu [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 66}, 042301 (2002)], for solving a generalized Grover search problem. Rigorous proofs are found for several conjectures made by Hu and explicit equations are obtained for finding the values of two phase parameters which make the algorithms sure success. Using self-consistent Hartree-Fock theory, I have studied an extended Hubbard model which includes quasi-long-range Coulomb interaction between the holes (characterized by parameter V). I have found that for sufficiently large V/t, doubly-charged-antiphase-island do become energetically favored localized objects in this system for moderate values of U/t, thus supporting a recent conjecture by C.-R. Hu [Int. J. Mod. Phys. B {\bf 17}, 3284 (2003)].

Order-disorder phenomena in geometrical frustrated systems are the attractive topics because of the intrinsic fluctuation. Among the geometrical frustrated systems, the material with spinel structure (AB2X4) is one of the appropriate candidates to investigate the long range ordering behavior. Corner sharing of tetrahedron and edge sharing of octahedron in the unique structural network of spinel structure are the characteristics for geometrical frustration. Hence, to study the 3d transition metal substituted in spinel system which leads to fruitful physical behavior becomes rapidly attractive. In this dissertation, long range ordering behavior in spin frustrated systems including three interesting materials LiTi2O4, NaxCoO2¡DyH2O, and CdCr2S4 were investigated. LiTi2O4 was found to show the highest superconducting transition temperature (Tc ~ 11 K) while first hydrated superconductor NaxCoO2¡DyH2O (Tc~ 4.5 K) was discovered in 2003. Superconductivity of LiTi2O4 and NaxCoO2¡DyH2O had been measured and analyzed by low temperature specific heat under magnetic field. According to the analyses of specific-heat results, isotropic (s-wave) and nodal (d-wave) gaps of superconducting pairing symmetry were proposed for LiTi2O4 and NaxCoO2¡DyH2O, respectively. Finally, LiTi2O4 was confirmed to be a typical BCS-like, fully gapped, and electron-phonon moderate-coupling type-II superconductor. Not like the case of LiTi2O4, the superconducting parameters of NaxCoO2¡DyH2O, such as Tc, HC2 and pairing symmetry, were strongly dependent on synthesized conditions. However, the evidence of nodal gap was found to be an intrinsic feature in this peculiar material NaxCoO2¡DyH2O. In the ferromagnetic insulator CdCr2S4, we first found several interesting features induced by external electric field in dielectric and magnetization measurements. Exchangestriction was proposed to be associated with the colossal change of dielectric constant value and suppression of magnetization under external electric and magnetic field in CdCr2S4. Therefore, our results supported that CdCr2S4 was a typical multiferroic material. In a conclusion, the intrinsic fluctuation of spin frustrated systems wasnecessary to pay more attention in the near future due to its fruitful physical properties and behind theoretical description.

The generation of high-frequency current oscillations when a constant voltage is applied across an insulating tunnel gap separating two superconductors was one of the fundamental theoretical predictions made by Brian Josephson, which earned him a share of the 1973 Nobel Prize in physics. Our primary objective is to utilize superconducting transport through microscopic objects to both excite and analyze the vibrational degrees of freedom of various molecules of a biological nature. The technique stems from a Josephson junction's ability to generate radiation that falls in the terahertz gap ( 10THz) and consequently can be used to excite vibrational modes of simple and complex molecules. Analysis of the change in IV characteristics coupled with the differential conductance ( ) allows determination of both the absorption spectra and the vibrational modes of biological molecules. Presented here are both the theoretical foundations of superconductivity relevant to our experimental technique and the fabrication process of our samples. Comparisons between our technique and that of other absorption spectroscopy techniques are included as a means of providing a reference upon which to judge the merits of our novel procedure. This technique is meant to improve not only our understanding of the vibrational degrees of freedom of useful biological molecules, but also these molecule's structural, electronic and mechanical properties.

NOUS AVONS DEMONTRE EXPERIMENTALEMENT LA QUANTIFICATION DE LA CHARGE MOYENNE D'UNE ELECTRODE METALLIQUE CONNECTEE A UN RESERVOIR D'ELECTRONS PAR UNE JONCTION TUNNEL. EN UTILISANT UNE JONCTION DE DIMENSIONS NANOMETRIQUES ON PEUT RENDRE L'ENERGIE ELECTROSTATIQUE D'UN ELECTRON EN EXCES DANS L'ILE (L'ELECTRODE METALLIQUE) LARGEMENT SUPERIEURE A L'ENERGIE CARACTERISTIQUE DES FLUCTUATIONS THERMIQUES. NOUS AVONS MONTRE QUE NOUS POUVIONS FIXER LE NOMBRE MOYEN D'ELECTRONS EN EXCES PAR UNE TENSION DE COMMANDE. LES VARIATIONS DE LA CHARGE MOYENNE DE L'ILE (CHARGE MACROSCOPIQUE) EN FONCTION DE CETTE TENSION ONT LA FORME D'UNE COURBE EN MARCHES D'ESCALIER ET SONT EN BON ACCORD AVEC LES PREDICTIONS THEORIQUES PRENANT EN COMPTE LES FLUCTUATIONS THERMIQUES. POUR UNE ILE SUPRACONDUCTRICE, L'EXPERIENCE MONTRE QUE LES MARCHES CORRESPONDANT A UN NOMBRE IMPAIR D'ELECTRONS SUR L'ILE SONT PLUS COURTES QUE LES MARCHES CORRESPONDANT A UN NOMBRE PAIR D'ELECTRONS. NOUS INTERPRETONS CET EFFET COMME UNE MANIFESTATION DE L'APPARIEMENT DES ELECTRONS DANS L'ILE SUPRACONDUCTRICE. DE L'ASYMETRIE DES MARCHES NOUS AVONS DEDUIT LA DIFFERENCE D'ENERGIE LIBRE ENTRE LES ETATS A NOMBRE IMPAIR D'ELECTRONS DANS L'ILE ET LES ETATS A NOMBRE PAIR D'ELECTRONS ET NOUS AVONS OBTENU UN TRES BON ACCORD ENTRE NOS RESULTATS EXPERIMENTAUX ET LES CALCULS THEORIQUES. ENFIN, EN DESSOUS D'UNE TEMPERATURE SEUIL, NOUS AVONS OBSERVE QUE LES MARCHES IMPAIRES DISPARAISSAIENT ET QU'ALORS LA CHARGE MACROSCOPIQUE ETAIT QUANTIFIEE EN UNITES DE 2E. NOUS AVONS EGALEMENT MONTRE QUE LE DISPOSITIF DE LA POMPE A ELECTRONS, QUI PERMET DE BATIR UN COURANT ELECTRON PAR ELECTRON, POURRAIT THEORIQUEMENT, AVEC QUATRE ILES, ATTEINDRE UNE PRECISION METROLOGIQUE. CETTE ANALYSE EST BASEE SUR LE CALCUL D'UNE EXPRESSION NON DIVERGENTE DU TAUX DES EVENEMENTS TUNNEL D'ORDRE SUPERIEUR A TRAVERS PLUSIEURS JONCTIONS TUNNEL EN SERIE. ENFIN, NOUS AVONS OBSERVE DES EVENEMENTS TUNNEL INDIVIDUELS EN MESURANT LES VARIATIONS DE LA CHARGE INSTANTANEE D'UNE ELECTRODE CONNECTEE A UN RESERVOIR D'ELECTRONS PAR QUATRE JONCTIONS EN SERIE

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PrOs₄Sb₁₂ is the first known heavy fermion superconductor containing Pr. Many experiments show results indicating unconventional superconductivity in this system. Most notably, PrOs₄Sb₁₂ exhibits two superconducting transitions. The upper transition occurs at Tc₁ ≈ 1.89 K and the lower transition occurs at Tc₂ ≈ 1.72 K. There are many features of this system that are not understood and do not have a unifi ed consensus among researchers. Many issues remain unanswered, such as the origin of superconductivity, symmetry of the superconducting energy gap, and the nature of the two superconducting transitions. We present specific heat data for a single PrOs₄Sb₁₂ crystal. The data show two superconducting transitions. Variance in the lower superconducting transition (among various samples) suggests multiple superconducting phases. Power law dependence of the low temperature specific heat is indicative of asymmetric energy gap. Cuprates are unconventional high temperature superconductors. The theory on origin and characteristics of superconductivity in these systems is still a debated issue. Experiments indicate presence of a phase in these systems that occurs above the superconducting transition temperature which exhibits some common characteristics with the superconducting state. An important issue is the nature of this so-called "pseudogap" phase and its relationship to the superconducting state. We have developed an experimental apparatus and procedure for measuring the specific heat of a high temperature superconductor and demonstrated it by measuring the heat capacity of a YBCO high-Tc superconductor sample.

We investigate the newly discovered, superconducting metal-mixed polymers made by embedding a surface layer of metal (a tin-antimony alloy) into a plastic substrate (polyetheretherketone - PEEK). Focusing initially on pre-implanted systems, we show that while the substrate morphology does affect the distribution of metal deposited on the surface, the morphology has no affect on the film's electrical properties. We find that the metal content can be characterised via the film's optical absorption, which along with the conductivity, scales with thickness. By conducting low temperature resistivity measurements we observe that the superconducting critical temperature, $T_c$, remains at that of bulk Sn but the transition broadens with decreasing film thickness. Studying N-implanted metal-mixed polymers, we find that the implant temperature can influence the electrical properties of these systems, as higher implant temperatures result in greater disorder, which in turn causes higher residual resistances and broader superconducting transitions. We observe peaks in the magnetoresistance of superconducting/insulating systems, which we attribute to the competition between superconductivity and weak localisation in a granular network. We determine that the substrate morphology does not influence the electrical properties of implanted systems. We investigate the role sputtering plays by implanting heavier ions (Sn) and show that this technique can be used to overcome the issue of inhomogeneity inherent with using thinner initial films. We study the effect the fabrication parameters of implant dose, beam energy and film thickness have on Sn-implanted metal-mixed polymers and find that with only minor changes in the fabrication conditions, it is possible to tune the conductivities of these materials between a zero-resistance superconducting state, through a metal-insulator transition, to a severely insulating state ($R_s > 10^{10}~\Omega/\Box$). We find that the electrical properties can be further controlled by annealing the samples, and that it is possible to induce optical changes at temperatures approaching the glass transition temperature of PEEK. We demonstrate that metal-mixed polymers are suitable for use in resistance-based temperature sensors by comparing their performance directly against commercially available products and find that the metal-mixed polymers perform at least as well as the commercial models and, indeed, pass the highest industry standards.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 1989. / Submitted to the Dept. of Physics. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 192-204). Access restricted to members of the Tufts University community. Also available via the World Wide Web;