Influence of phase fluctuation in external environment on Coulomb blockadein an array system of single tunnel junctions/Ni nanowires

Correlation of Coulomb blockade (CB) with phase fluctuation caused by mutua l Coulomb interaction is reported in an array system of single tunnel junct ions directly connected to disordered Ni nanowires. At the voltages lower t han CB voltage, temperature dependence of the normalized resistance is clas sified to the following two regimes by a phase transition temperature (T-c) , (1) mutual Coulomb interaction regime (T > T-c) and (2) CB regime (T < T- c). It is found that this T-c is very sensitive to a diffusion coefficient (D) of the mutual Coulomb interaction, resulting in a linear T-c vs D-1/2 r elation. This relation is interpreted as a result of the competition betwee n the charging energy of the CB and the phase fluctuation energy caused by the multiple Coulomb scattering in the Ni nanowire. It is also reconfirmed by the wire diameter dependence of T-c. (C) 2000 American Institute of Phys ics. [S0003-6951(00)00213-8].