Nonlinear phenomena in quantum thermoelectrics and heat

We review recent developments in nonlinear quantum transport through nanostructures and mesoscopic systems driven by thermal gradients or in combination with voltage biases. Low-dimensional conductors are excellent platforms for analyzing both the thermoelectric and heat dynamics beyond the linear response because, due to their small size, a small temperature difference applied across regions gives rise to large thermal biases. We offer a theoretical discussion based on the scattering approach to highlight the differences between the linear and the nonlinear regimes of transport. We discuss recent experiments on quantum dots and molecular junctions subjected to strong temperature differences. Theoretical predictions concerning the Kondo effect and heat rectification proposals are briefly examined. An important issue is the calculation of thermoelectric efficiencies including nonlinearities. Cross Seebeck effects and nonlinear spin filtering arise in superconductors and topological insulators, while mixed noises between charge and heat currents are also considered. Finally, we provide an outlook on the possible future directions of the field.     

The effect of the long-range order in a quantum dot array on the in-plane lattice thermal conductivity

Semiconductor quantum dot superlattices consisting of arrays of quantum dots have shown great promise for a variety of device applications, including thermoelectric power generation and cooling. In this paper we theoretically investigate the effect of long-range order in a quantum dot array on its in-plane lattice thermal conductivity. It is demonstrated that the long-range order in a quantum dot array enhances acoustic phonon scattering and, thus leads to a decrease of its lattice thermal conductivity. The decrease in the ordered quantum dot array, which acts as a phonon grating, is stronger than that in the disordered one due to the contribution of the coherent scattering term. The numerical calculations were carried out for a structure that consists of multiple layers of Si with layers of ordered Ge quantum dots separated by wetting layers and spacers.     

Electron energy state spin-splitting in 3D cylindrical semiconductor quantum dots

In this article we study the impact of the spin-orbit interaction on the electron quantum confinement for narrow gap semiconductor quantum dots. The model formulation includes: (1) the effective one-band Hamiltonian approximation; (2) the position- and energy-dependent quasi-particle effective mass approximation; (3) the finite hard wall confinement potential; and (4) the spin-dependent Ben Daniel-Duke boundary conditions. The Hartree-Fock approximation is also utilized for evaluating the characteristics of a two-electron quantum dot system. In our calculation, we describe the spin-orbit interaction which comes from both the spin-dependent boundary conditions and the Rashba term (for two-electron quantum dot system). It can significantly modify the electron energy spectrum for InAs semiconductor quantum dots built in the GaAs matrix. The energy state spin-splitting is strongly dependent on the dot size and reaches an experimentally measurable magnitude for relatively small dots. In addition, we have found the Coulomb interaction and the spin-splitting are suppressed in quantum dots with small height. Received 15 May 2001 / Received in final form 14 May 2002 Published online 13 August 2002     

Thermoelectric properties of correlated double quantum dot system in Coulomb blockade regime

We theoretically study thermoelectric properties of a coupled double quantum dot (DQD) system coupled to normal leads using two impurity Anderson model with intra- as well as interdot Coulomb interactions. A generic formulation, which was earlier developed to study electronic properties (zero bias maximum of differential conductance and interesting partial swapping in Fano phenomena) of DQD system within Coulomb blockade regime for a non-magnetic case, is extended to investigate thermoelectric properties i.e. electrical conductance, thermoelectric power and thermal conductance of the same system, as a function of temperature by varying interdot Coulomb interaction and interdot tunneling. Interdot Coulomb interaction is found to trigger some novel features like crossover in thermoelectric power with temperature in all the configurations (series, parallel and T-shape) and a small peak in thermal conductance toward low temperatures, T≈Γ/10, in series and T-shape configurations, which is found to be missing in case of symmetric parallel configuration. The origin of these novel features is attributed to the interplay of renormalization of energy levels caused by the interdot Coulomb interaction which is interpreted in terms of local density of states and the asymmetry effects related to dot-lead couplings/interference effects.     

Spectral response of the intrinsic region of a GaAs–InAs quantum dot solar cell considering the absorption spectra of ideal cubic dots

Recently, attempts have been made by some researchers to improve the efficiency of quantum dot solar cells by incorporating different types of quantum dots. In this paper, the photocurrent density has been obtained considering the absorption spectra of ideal cubic dots. The effects of quantum dot size dispersion on the spectral response of the intrinsic region of a GaAs–InAs quantum dot solar cell have been studied. The dependence of the spectral response of this region on the size of quantum dots of such solar cell has also been investigated. The investigation shows that for smaller quantum dot size dispersion, the spectral response of the intrinsic region of the cell increases significantly. It is further observed that by enlarging the quantum dot size it is possible to enhance the spectral response of such solar cells as it causes better match between absorption spectra of the quantum dots and the solar spectrum. These facts indicate the significant role of quantum dot size and size dispersion on the performance of such devices. Also, the power conversion efficiency of such solar cell has been studied under 1 sun, AM 1.5 condition.     

边界对石墨烯量子点非线性光学性质的影响

石墨烯作为一种新型非线性光学材料,在光子学领域具有重要的应用前景,引起研究人员的极大兴趣.本文运用量子化学计算方法研究了边界引入碳碳双键(C=C)和掺杂环硼氮烷(B₃N₃)环对石墨烯量子点非线性光学性质和紫外-可见吸收光谱的影响.研究发现,扶手椅边界上引入C=C双键后,六角形石墨烯量子点分子结构对称性降低,电荷分布对称性发生破缺,导致分子二阶非线性光学活性增强.石墨烯量子点在从扶手椅型边界向锯齿型边界过渡的过程中,随着边界C=C双键数目的增加,六角形石墨烯量子点和B3N3掺杂六角形石墨烯量子点的极化率和第二超极化率分别呈线性增加.此外,边界对石墨烯量子点的吸收光谱也有重要影响.无论是石墨烯量子点还是B₃N₃掺杂石墨烯量子点,扶手椅型边界上引入C=C双键导致最高占据分子轨道能级升高,最低未占分子轨道能级的降低,前线分子轨道能级差减小,因而最大吸收波长发生了红移.中心掺杂B₃N₃环后会增大石墨烯量子点的分子前线轨道能级差,导致B3N3掺杂后的石墨烯量子点紫外-可见吸收光谱发生蓝移.本文研究为边界修饰调控石墨烯量子点非线性光学响应提供了一定的理论指导.     

Thermopower in parallel double quantum dots with Rashba spin-orbit interaction

Based on the Green’s function technique and the equation of motion approach,this paper theoretically studies the thermoelectric effect in parallel coupled double quantum dots (DQDs),in which Rashba spin-orbit interaction is taken into account.Rashba spin-orbit interaction contributions,even in a magnetic field,are exhibited obviously in the double quantum dots system for the thermoelectric effect.The periodic oscillation of thermopower can be controlled by tunning the Rashba spin-orbit interaction induced phase.The interesting spin-dependent thermoelectric effects will arise which has important influence on thermoelectric properties of the studied system.     

Nanostructures with Ge–Si quantum dots for infrared photodetectors

In this paper questions of optimization of growth conditions in the method of molecular beam epitaxy for creation of high-efficient quantum dot infrared photodetectors are considered. As a model material system for theoretical investigations, heterostructures with germanium-silicon quantum dots on the silicon surface are chosen. For calculations of the dependencies of quantum dots array parameters on synthesis conditions the kinetic model of growth of differently shaped quantum dots based on the general nucleation theory is proposed. The theory is improved by taking into account the change in free energy of nucleation of an island due to the formation of additional edges of islands and due to the dependence of surface energies of facets of quantum dots on the thickness of a 2D wetting layer during the Stranski–Krastanow growth. Calculations of noise and signal characteristics of infrared photodetectors based on heterostructures with quantum dots of germanium on silicon are done. Dark current in such structures caused by thermal emission and barrier tunneling of carriers, as well as detectivity of the photodetector in the approximation of limitation by generation-recombination noises are estimated. Moreover, the presence of dispersion of quantum dots by size is taken into account in the calculations of the generation-recombination noises. Results of calculations of the properties of structures with quantum dots and their dependencies on growth parameters, as well as the characteristics of quantum dot photodetectors are presented. Comparison of the estimated parameters of quantum dots ensembles and the characteristics of quantum dot photodetectors with experimental data is carried out.     

Thermoelectrics with Coulomb-coupled quantum dots

In this article we review the thermoelectric properties of three terminal devices with Coulomb-coupled quantum dots (QDs) as observed in recent experiments [1], [2]. The system we consider consists of two Coulomb-blockade QDs, one of which can exchange electrons with only a single reservoir (heat reservoir), while the other dot is tunnel coupled with two reservoirs at a lower temperature (conductor). The heat reservoir and the conductor interact only via the Coulomb coupling of the quantum dots. It has been found that two regimes have to be considered. In the first one, the heat flow between the two systems is small. In this regime, thermally driven occupation fluctuations of the hot QD modify the transport properties of the conductor system. This leads to an effect called thermal gating. Experiments have shown how this can be used to control charge flow in the conductor by means of temperature in a remote reservoir. We further substantiate the observations with model calculations, and implications for the realisation of an all-thermal transistor are discussed. In the second regime, the heat flow between the two systems is relevant. Here the system works as a nanoscale heat engine, as proposed recently (Sánchez and Büttiker [3]). We review the conceptual idea, its experimental realisation and the novel features arising in this new kind of thermoelectric device such as decoupling of heat and charge flow.     

Thermoelectric energy conversion in layered structures with strained Ge quantum dots grown on Si surfaces

The efficiency of the energy conversion devices depends in many ways on the materials used and various emerging cost-effective nanomaterials have promised huge potentials in highly efficient energy conversion. Here we show that thermoelectric voltage can be enhanced by a factor of 3 using layer-cake growth of Ge quantum dots through thermal oxidation of SiGe layers stacked in SiO₂/Si₃N₄ multilayer structure. The key to achieving this behavior has been to strain the Ge/Si interface by Ge dots migrating to Si substrate. Calculations taking into account the carrier trapping in the dot with a quantum transmission into the neighboring dot show satisfactory agreement with experiments above ≈200 K. The results may be of interest for improving the functionality of thermoelectric devices based on Ge/Si.     

Transport in split-gate silicon quantum dots

We report on the transport properties of novel Si quantum dot structures with controllable electron number through both top and side gates. Quantum dots were fabricated by a split-gate technique within a standard MOSFET process. Four-terminal dc electrical measurements were performed at 4.2 K in a liquid helium cryostat. Strong oscillations in the conductance through the dot are observed as a function of both the top gate bias and of the plunger bias. An overall monotonic and quasi-periodic movement of the peak conductance is observed which is believed to be associated with the bare level structure of the electronic states in the dot coupled with the Coulomb charging energy. Crossing behavior is observed as well, suggestive of either many-body effects or symmetry breaking of the dot states by the applied bias.     

一种基于室温工作的量子点光电探测器的微光读出和应用研究

针对量子点光电探测器线列进行微光检测研究,量子点探测器采用AlAs/GaAs/AlAs双势垒结构,GaAs宽阱中分别有一个InAs量子点(QDs)和In_0.15Ga_0.85As量子阱(QW),建立一个简单的器件模型进行分析。常温下,在632.8 nm He-Ne激光照射下,当光功率为 0.01 pW时,器件偏压-0.5 V,积分时间80.2 μs,电压响应率达到7.0×1011 V·W-1,具有非常高的灵敏度,这种光电探测器在300 K温度下可以探测光功率小于10-14 W极弱光。以这种量子点光电探测器为核心研制的高灵敏度光谱仪和分子超光谱系统结合对生物组织样本进行检测,研制了一种图谱相互验证,互为校正的生物组织光谱测量系统。     

Nonlinear optical properties of a Woods–Saxon quantum dot under an electric field

A theoretical study of the effect of the confining potential on the nonlinear optical properties of two dimensional quantum dots is performed. A three-parameter Woods–Saxon potential is used within the density matrix formalism. The control of confinement by three parameters and an applied electric field gives one quite an advantage in studying their effects on the nonlinear properties. The coefficients investigated include the optical rectification, second and third-harmonic generation and the change in the refractive index. Their dependence on the electric field values, dot size and the energy of the incoming photons is studied extensively.It is shown that the Woods–Saxon potential can be used to model the confinement in quantum dots with considerable success.     

Optical anisotropy of a donor in ellipsoidal quantum dots

A system of an electron with a hydrogenic impurity confined in anisotropic quantum dots with ellipsoidal shape has been investigated. The linear and nonlinear optical absorptions as well as refractive index changes associated with intersubband transitions has been calculated. The results are presented as a function of the incident photon energy. The results show that the optical properties of a donor in ellipsoidal quantum dots are strongly affected by the anisotropy degree and the dot size. The dot anisotropy is shown to play a fundamental role in determining the dot properties.     

Quantum Dot Research: Current State and Future Prospects

This article reviews the current state of research involving semiconductor quantum dots, provides a brief review of the theory behind their unique properties, and an introduction explaining the importance of quantum dot research. The characteristic shifting of the band gap energy with quantum dot size, as predicted from the density of states for low-dimensional structures, allows experimental measurements to determine the extent to which quantum confinement effects play a role in the resulting properties. A few of the current techniques used to measure the presence and physical characteristics of quantum dots and their energy levels is reviewed, including transmission electron microscopy, optical transmission, and Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Finally, some of the more exciting applications for quantum dots currently being researched for use in the field of optoelectronics are reviewed, including quantum dot infrared photodetectors, quantum dot lasers, and quantum dot solar cells. Comments are made on the current progress and the future prospects of quantum dot research and device applications.     

Influence of Superconducting Leads Energy Gap on Electron Transport Through Double Quantum Dot by Markovian Quantum Master Equation Approach

The superconducting reservoir effect on the current carrying transport of a double quantum dot in Markovian regime is investigated. For this purpose, a quantum master equation at finite temperature is derived for the many-body density matrix of an open quantum system. The dynamics and the steady-state properties of the double quantum dot system for arbitrary bias are studied. We will show that how the populations and coherencies of the system states are affected by superconducting leads. The energy parameter of system contains essentially four contributions due to dots system-electrodes coupling, intra dot coupling, two quantum dots inter coupling and superconducting gap. The coupling effect of each energy contribution is applied to currents and coherencies results. In addition, the effect of energy gap is studied by considering the amplitude and lifetime of coherencies to get more current through the system.     

Transport properties of quantum dots

Linear and nonlinear transport through a quantum dot that is weakly coupled to ideal quantum leads is investigated in the parameter regime where charging and geometrical quantization effects coexist. The exact eigenstates and spins of a finite number of correlated electrons confined within the dot are combined with a rate equation. The current is calculated in the regime of sequential tunneling. The analytic solution for an Anderson impurity is given. The phenomenological charging model is compared with the quantum mechanical model for interacting electrons. The current-voltage characteristics show Coulomb blockade. The excited states lead to additional fine-structure in the current voltage characteristics. Asymmetry in the coupling between the quantum dot and the leads causes asymmetry in the conductance peaks which is reversed with the bias voltage. The spin selection rules can cause a ‘spin blockade’ which decreases the current when certain excited states become involved in the transport. In two-dimensional dots, peaks in the linear conductance can be suppressed at low temperatures, when the total spins of the corresponding ground states differ by more than 1/2. In a magnetic field, an electron number parity effect due to the different spins of the many-electron ground states is predicted in addition to the vanishing of the spin blockade effect. All of the predicted features are consistent with recent experiments.     

On the enhancement of the figure of merit in bulk nanocomposites

In this paper we make a detailed comparison of the thermoelectric properties of quantum dot superlattices with those of equivalently doped bulk material and show that a major contribution to the enhancement of the figure of merit comes from the increase of the thermoelectric power over that of bulk, in addition to the lattice thermal conductivity reduction in quantum dot superlattices. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

混合量子点QLED结构性能研究

为研究基于混合量子点的QLED结构与性能,利用红光量子点以及绿光量子点两种材料制备了橙光QLED器件,并对其性能进行了表征。实验制备的器件结构为ITO/PEDOT∶PSS/poly-TPD/混合QDs/Zn O/Al,其中发光层采用了3种混合量子点的混合结构方案。方案一先旋涂红光量子点层,后旋涂绿光量子点层;方案二先旋涂绿光量子点层,后旋涂红光量子点层;方案三将红光、绿光量子点1∶1混合后制备为发光层。实验结果表明:方案一制备的器件电流密度最大,发光亮度最低,且只有红光谱;方案二制备的器件具有最小的电流密度,同时具有红、绿光谱,在8 V电压下,电流效率约为4.69 cd/A;方案三制备的器件同时具有红、绿光谱,电流密度与发光特性介于方案一与方案二之间。实测数据与理论分析是一致的,方案二制备的器件存在双能量陷阱,能够将注入的空穴以及电子同时限制在红光量子点层内。通过调节各功能层厚度使得载流子注入平衡,可进一步增大发光电流,提高器件效率。     

Thermospin effects in parallel coupled double quantum dots in the presence of the Rashba spin-orbit interaction and Zeeman splitting

The thermoelectric and the thermospin transport properties,including electrical conductivity,Seebeck coefficient,thermal conductivity,and thermoelectric figure of merit,of a parallel coupled double-quantum-dot Aharonov-Bohm interferometer are investigated by means of the Green function technique.The periodic Anderson model is used to describe the quantum dot system,the Rashba spin-orbit interaction and the Zeeman splitting under a magnetic field are considered.The theoretical results show the constructive contribution of the Rashba effect and the influence of the magnetic field on the thermospin effects.We also show theoretically that material with a high figure of merit can be obtained by tuning the Zeeman splitting energy only.