Screening in nanowires and nanocontacts: field emission, adhesion force, and contact resistance

The explanations of several nanoscale phenomena such as the field enhancement factor in field emission, the large decay length of the adhesion force between a metallic tip and a surface, and the contact resistance in a nanowire break junction have been elusive. Here we develop an analytical theory of Thomas-Fermi screening in nanoscale structures. We demonstrate that nanoscale dimensions give rise to an effective screening length that depends on the geometry and physical boundary conditions. The above phenomena are shown to be manifestations of the effective screening length.