Time-dependent universal conductance fluctuations in IrO2 nanowires

Abstract

Single-crystalline iridium dioxide nanowires show the time-dependent universal conductance fluctuations (TUCFs) at cryogenic temperatures. The conductance fluctuations persist up to temperature T as high as nearly 10 K. The root-mean-square TUCF magnitudes increase with decreasing T, reaching approximately 0.1 e (2) / h at 1.7 K. We ascribe these conductance fluctuations to originating from the conduction electrons scattering upon mobile defects (moving scattering centers). Our measured TUCF characteristics are satisfactorily explained in terms of the existing TUCF theory in its three-dimensional form. The extracted electron dephasing length L (phi) (1.7 K) a parts per thousand integral 90 nm is smaller than the diameter (a parts per thousand 180 nm) of our nanowires.