BALLISTIC CONDUCTION IN NANOMETRIC METALS FOR METROLOGY

Proposed is an experimental study of quantum ballistic and mixed-mode conduction in metals to provide samples with well-characterized dimensions (height, width, and length), defect structures, and surfaces. Transport measurements will be conducted from 3.4 - 300 K. The benefits of the proposed research to metrology for test and evaluation are two-fold. First, it will provide a basis for the theoretical development and metrology of mixed-mode transport in metals (e.g., role of hot electrons in metals), and second, understanding defects in nanowires may allow metrology to 'fingerprint' nanowires in existing microelectronics, due to the unique defect structures developed during fabrication (e.g., surface scattering contributions).