title: Shot noise as a probe of spin-polarized transport through single atoms.
abstract: Single atoms on Au(111) surfaces have been contacted with the Au tip of a low temperature scanning tunneling microscope. The shot noise of the current through these contacts has been measured up to frequencies of 120 kHz and Fano factors have been determined to characterize the transport channels. The noise at Fe and Co atoms, the latter displaying a Kondo effect, indicates spin-polarized transport through a single channel. Transport calculations reproduce this observation.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, D-24098 Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Burtzlaff
authors.affiliation: Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, D-24098 Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weismann
authors.affiliation: DTU Nanotech Department of Micro and Nanotechnology, NanoDTU, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
authors.forename: Mads
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brandbyge
authors.affiliation: Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, D-24098 Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Berndt