Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2026

All-electronic Nanosecond-resolved Scanning Tunneling Microscopy: Facilitating the Investigation of Single Dopant Charge Dynamics
Published on: January 19, 2018
Shot noise in magnetic tunnel junctions: evidence for sequential tunneling
R Guerrero1, F G Aliev, Y Tserkovnyak
1Departamento de Fisica de la Materia Condensada, C-III, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
Abstract:
We report the experimental observation of sub-Poissonian shot noise in single magnetic tunnel junctions, indicating the importance of tunneling via impurity levels inside the tunnel barrier. For junctions with weak zero-bias anomaly in conductance, the Fano factor (normalized shot noise) depends on the magnetic configuration being enhanced for antiparallel alignment of the ferromagnetic electrodes. We propose a model of sequential tunneling through nonmagnetic and paramagnetic impurity levels inside the tunnel barrier to qualitatively explain the observations.
Related Concept Videos
Torque On A Current Loop In A Magnetic Field
Consider a rectangular current-carrying loop containing N turns of wire, placed in a uniform magnetic field. The net force on a current-carrying loop...
Metal-Semiconductor Junctions
Schottky Barriers
Schottky barriers arise when a metal with a work function (Φm) contacts a semiconductor with a different work function (Φs). Initially, electrons transfer until the Fermi levels of the metal and semiconductor align at equilibrium. For instance, if Φm > Φs, the semiconductor Fermi level is higher than the metal's before contact. The semiconductor's...
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Relaxation Processes
Magnetic Field due to Moving Charges
Consider a point charge moving with a constant velocity. Like the electric field, the magnetic field at any point is directly proportional to the magnitude of the charge and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the source point and the field point. However, unlike the electric field, the magnetic field is always perpendicular to the plane containing the line...
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Overview
Biasing of Metal-Semiconductor Junctions
In Schottky junctions, where the semiconductor is n-type, applying a positive voltage to the metal relative to the semiconductor reduces its Fermi...

