Periodic negative differential conductance in a single metallic nano-cage

TL;DR

This paper reports a novel bipolar multiple periodic negative differential conductance effect observed in a single metallic nano-cage, attributed to its unique architecture and self-gating charge transport mechanism, supported by theoretical modeling.

Contribution

It introduces the first observation of bipolar multiple periodic NDC in a single metallic nano-cage and explains it through a theoretical model of charge transport.

Findings

Observation of bipolar multiple periodic NDC in a single nano-cage

Charge transport influenced by self-gating effect

Theoretical model supports experimental results

Abstract

We report a bi-polar multiple periodic negative differential conductance (NDC) effect on a single cage-shaped Ru nanoparticle measured using scanning tunneling spectroscopy. This phenomenon is assigned to the unique multiply-connected cage architecture providing two (or more) defined routes for charge flow through the cage. This, in turn, promotes a self- gating effect, where electron charging of one route affects charge transport along a neighboring channel, yielding a series of periodic NDC peaks. This picture is established and analyzed here by a theoretical model.