He. Vandenbrom et al., CHARACTERIZATION OF INDIVIDUAL CONDUCTANCE STEPS IN METALLIC QUANTUM POINT CONTACTS, Physica. B, Condensed matter, 252(1-2), 1998, pp. 69-75
The properties of a large number of individual steps in the conductanc
e of atom-size contacts as a function of cross-section have been inves
tigated. The results confirm that the steps are the result of atomic s
tructural rearrangements, without exception for all individual steps i
n the survey. Furthermore, we report the first direct observation of t
he transformation of a hysteresis cycle around a conductance step in a
two-level fluctuation. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights rese
rved.