We report on quantum electrical characteristics of dendritic copper point contacts (PCs) formed through an electrochemical process via a new cyclic switchover effect that is demonstrated by the occurrence of steps in the time dependence of the dendritic-PCs conductance. We show that this quantization of the electrical conductance is due to an electronic shell effect governing the dendrite growth. The cyclic variations of conductance during dendritic PCs electrosynthesis offer the possibility for forming nanostructures of preassigned sizes controlled through their electrical resistance.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.