Statistical evidence of strain induced breaking of metallic point contacts

Abstract : A Scanning Tunneling Microscopy in Break Junction regime and a Mechanically Controllable Break Junction are used to acquire thousands of conductance-elongation curves by stretching until breaking and reconnecting Au junctions. From a robust statistical analysis performed on large sets of experiments , parameters such as lifetime, elongation and occurrence probabilities are extracted. The analysis of results obtained for different stretching speeds of the electrodes indicates that the breaking mechanism of di-and mono-atomic junction is identical, and that the junctions undergo atomic rearrangement during their stretching and at the moment of breaking. PACS. 73.63.Rt electronic transport in nanocontacts – 81.07.Lk fabrication of nanocontacts