Properties of nanowires in air - Controlled values of conductance

In this work we present experimental results concerning stable nanowires wi th prearranged values of conductance at ambient conditions. The experiments have been performed using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM)-like devic e. Reproducible I-V curves have been obtained for nanowires with arbitrary, integer and non-integer, initial values of conductance. A non-linear behav ior of the I-V curves is observed, similar to that reported in the literatu re for nanocontacts in ultra-high vacuum. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. Al l rights reserved.