Dielectric effect on electric fields in the vicinity of the metal-vacuum-dielectric junction.

The dielectric effect was theoretically investigated in order to describe the electric field in the vicinity of a junction of a metal, dielectric, and vacuum. The assumption of two-dimensional symmetry of the junction leads to a simple analytic form and to a systematic numerical calculation for the field. The electric field obtained for the triple junction was found to be enhanced or reduced according to a certain criterion determined by the contact angles and dielectric constant.

Simulations of infrared and optical rectification by geometrically asymmetric metal-vacuum-metal junctions for applications in energy conversion devices.

We use a transfer-matrix methodology to simulate the rectification of infrared and optical radiation by geometrically asymmetric metal-vacuum-metal junctions in which one of the metals is flat while the other is extended by a tip. We determine in particular the power this junction could provide to an external load and the efficiency with which the energy of incident radiations is converted. We consider first situations in which the external radiation is monochromatic, with typical frequencies in the infrared and optical domains.

Transfer-matrix simulations of field emission from a metallic (5,5) carbon nanotube.

We present three-dimensional simulations of field emission from an open (5,5) carbon nanotube without adsorption, by using a transfer-matrix methodology. By introducing pseudopotentials for the representation of carbon atoms and by repeating periodically a basic unit of the nanotube, band-structure effects are manifested in the distributions of energies. A representation of the band structure of the (5,5) nanotube is presented.