Contact effect in the dynamic electron transport of a two-probe mesoscopic conductor

Based on the self-consistent electron dynamic transport theory for multi-probe mesoscopic systems, we calculate the distribution of internal potential, charge density, and ac conductance of a two-probe mesoscopic conductor with wide trapezoid reservoirs, and study the contact effect. The results show that including the contact effect can make a significant difference to the frequency-dependent electron transport properties. In the nonzero frequency case, the internal potential and the charge density are complex with extremely small imaginary parts. Importantly, the imaginary part of the charge density gives rise to a real ac conductance (admittance), which corresponds to the charge-relaxation resistance.     

Quantum adiabatic transport in the presence of a finite temperature electrodynamic environment

We investigate the influence of electromagnetic fluctuations on quantum transport in a two-dimensional electron gas. We calculate the conductance of a quantum point contact under the influence of transport and gate-voltage fluctuations at finite temperature, using a generalized Landauer-Büttiker approach. The fluctuations are described by a suitable bath of bosons. In contrast to fluctuations of the gate-voltage, transport voltage fluctuations can completely block the electron transport at T = 0. This blockade is lifted as a result of finite temperature of the electrons in the Fermi reservoirs and also of the coupled bosons. In a typical experiment, these two temperatures need not to be the same. We show that the temperature of the coupled bosons limits the accuracy of the conductance quantization of a quantum point contact to a few percent.     

Anyon Quantum Transport and Noise Away from Equilibrium

The quantum transport of anyons in one space dimension is investigated. After establishing some universal features of non-equilibrium systems in contact with two heat reservoirs in a generalized Gibbs state, the abelian anyon solution of the Tomonaga–Luttinger model possessing axial-vector duality is focused upon. In this context a non-equilibrium representation of the physical observables is constructed, which is the basic tool for a systematic study of the anyon particle and heat transport. The associated Lorenz number is determined and the deviation from the standard Wiedemann–Franz law induced by the interaction and the anyon statistics is explicitly described. The quantum fluctuations generated by the electric and helical currents are investigated and the dependence of the relative noise power on the statistical parameter is established.     

A quantum photonic dissipative transport theory

In this paper, a quantum transport theory for describing photonic dissipative transport dynamics in nanophotonics is developed. The nanophotonic devices concerned in this paper consist of on-chip all-optical integrated circuits incorporating photonic bandgap waveguides and driven resonators embedded in nanostructured photonic crystals. The photonic transport through waveguides is entirely determined from the exact master equation of the driven resonators, which is obtained by explicitly eliminating all the degrees of freedom of the waveguides (treated as reservoirs). Back-reactions from the reservoirs are fully taken into account. The relation between the driven photonic dynamics and photocurrents is obtained explicitly. The non-Markovian memory structure and quantum decoherence dynamics in photonic transport can then be fully addressed. As an illustration, the theory is utilized to study the transport dynamics of a photonic transistor consisting of a nanocavity coupled to two waveguides in photonic crystals. The controllability of photonic transport through the external driven field is demonstrated.     

Proximity effect and multiple Andreev reflections in gold atomic contacts

We investigate the electronic transport properties of gold point contacts with superconducting aluminum leads. The modifications induced by the proximity effect in the quasiparticle density of states at the contact region are measured by tunnel spectroscopy. The theory of transport through multiple Andreev reflections is extended to incorporate these effects and used to determine the number and transmission coefficients of the conduction channels in the contact regime. We find that the smallest contacts, formed by one gold atom between the electrodes, contribute one single channel to the transport with variable transmission T between 0.1 and 1.     

考虑透射概率的能量选择性电子热泵

研究了具有不同温度和不同化学势的两个热库中的电子通过一个能量透射谱进行传输的问题,得到电子通过能量透射谱传输所产生的热流.进一步考虑了两个热库之间的辐射热漏流,数值计算出电子热泵的性能参数,绘出了热泵的性能特征曲线.分析了热漏、共振中心能级位置和能级宽度等参数对热泵工作性能的影响.当共振能级宽度无限小时,热泵系数可以达到Carnot值.     

考虑透射概率的能量选择性电子热泵

研究了具有不同温度和不同化学势的两个热库中的电子通过一个能量透射谱进行传输的问题,得到电子通过能量透射谱传输所产生的热流.进一步考虑了两个热库之间的辐射热漏流,数值计算出电子热泵的性能参数,绘出了热泵的性能特征曲线.分析了热漏、共振中心能级位置和能级宽度等参数对热泵工作性能的影响.当共振能级宽度无限小时,热泵系数可以达到Carnot值. 关键词： 透射谱 态密度 辐射热漏 电子热泵     

The electronic transport properties in C60 molecular devices with different contact distances

By applying non-equilibrium Green?s functions in combination with the density-functional theory, we investigate the transport behavior of molecular devices composed by metal electrode-C₆₀ molecule-metal electrode. Our results show that the electronic transport properties are affected obviously by the different contact distances between the electrodes, and the tunneling current decreases approximately exponentially at a certain bias with the increasing of contact distances. The negative differential resistance is observed and the peak-to-valley ratio can be tuned by different contact distances. The mechanisms of the contact distance effect and the negative differential resistance behavior are proposed.     

Thermopower induced by a supercurrent in superconductor-normal-metal structures

We examine the thermopower Q of a mesoscopic normal-metal (N) wire in contact with superconducting (S) segments and show that even with electron-hole symmetry Q may become finite due to the presence of supercurrents. Moreover, we show how the dominant part of Q can be directly related to the equilibrium supercurrents in the structure. In general, a finite thermopower appears both between the N reservoirs and the superconductors and between the N reservoirs themselves. The latter, however, strongly depends on the geometrical symmetry of the structure.     

纳米线异质结构对电子制冷机性能的影响

研究了在具有不同温度和不同化学势的两个热库中电子通过一个三势垒纳米线异质结构进行传输的问题,利用传输矩阵法得到了电子的传输概率,进而算出了电子传输所产生的热流.通过数值计算绘出了电子制冷机的性能特征曲线.分析了偏压和异质结结构对制冷机性能的影响,重点讨论了中间势垒高度和宽度对电子传输概率、制冷率和制冷系数的影响. 关键词： 电子制冷机 三势垒纳米线 性能参数 传输矩阵法     

石墨烯与金属的欧姆接触理论研究

石墨烯材料应用于多种电子器件时不可避免地要与金属电极接触,它们之间的接触电阻直接影响了器件的性能.为了揭示影响金属电极与石墨烯间接触电阻的因素,提出有效地抑制这些影响的措施,本文建立了一种求解接触电阻的物理模型,将载流子的输运分为金属与正下方石墨烯之间、正下方石墨烯与邻近石墨烯之间的两个过程,分别研究各个过程的输运概率;结合金属电极与石墨烯接触对载流子分布的影响分析接触电阻,据此分别探讨了金属电极材料、栅极电压、掺杂浓度、金属与石墨烯原子距离等对接触电阻的影响.为验证理论分析结果的正确性,制作了金与石墨烯接触的实验样品,实验测得的接触电阻与理论分析结果符合.理论分析结果表明,可通过选择与石墨烯功函数接近的金属材料,降低二氧化硅层厚度,增加载流子平均自由程,改进金属材料的表面形态使其更光滑,减小金属与石墨烯耦合长度等方法降低石墨烯与金属电极的接触电阻.     

Ac response of a coupled double quantum dot

The effect of phase-breaking process on the ac response of a coupled double quantum dot is studied in this paper based on the nonequilibrium Green function formalism. A general expression is derived for the ac current in the presence of electron--phonon interaction. The ac conductance is numerically computed and the results are compared with those in [Anatram M P and Datta S 1995 Phys. Rev. B 51 7632]. Our results reveal that the inter-dot electron tunnelling interplays with that between dots and electron reservoirs, and contributes prominently to the ac current when inter-dot tunnelling coupling is much larger than the tunnelling coupling between dots and electron reservoirs. In addition, the phase-breaking process is found to have a significant effect on the ac transport through the coupled double dot.     

Entropy production in nonequilibrium systems at stationary states

We present a stochastic approach to nonequilibrium thermodynamics based on the expression of the entropy production rate advanced by Schnakenberg for systems described by a master equation. From the microscopic Schnakenberg expression we get the macroscopic bilinear form for the entropy production rate in terms of fluxes and forces. This is performed by placing the system in contact with two reservoirs with distinct sets of thermodynamic fields and by assuming an appropriate form for the transition rate. The approach is applied to an interacting lattice gas model in contact with two heat and particle reservoirs. On a square lattice, a continuous symmetry breaking phase transition takes place such that at the nonequilibrium ordered phase a heat flow sets in even when the temperatures of the reservoirs are the same. The entropy production rate is found to have a singularity at the critical point of the linear-logarithm type.     

Bosonic transport through a chain of quantum dots

The particle transport through a chain of quantum dots coupled to two bosonic reservoirs is studied. For the case of reservoirs of non-interacting bosonic particles, we derive an exact set of stochastic differential equations, whose memory kernels and driving noise are characterised entirely by the properties of the reservoirs. Going to the Markovian limit an analytically solvable case is presented. The effect of interparticle interactions on the transient behaviour of the system, when both reservoirs are instantaneously coupled to an empty chain of quantum dots, is approximated by a semiclassical method, known as the Truncated Wigner approximation. The steady-state particle flow through the chain and the mean particle occupations are explained via the spectral properties of the interacting system.     

Harmonic Systems with Bulk Noises

We consider a harmonic chain in contact with thermal reservoirs at different temperatures and subject to bulk noises of different types: velocity flips or self-consistent reservoirs. While both systems have the same covariances in the non-equilibrium stationary state (NESS) the measures are very different. We study hydrodynamical scaling, large deviations, fluctuations, and long range correlations in both systems. Some of our results extend to higher dimensions.     

Waiting times and noise in single particle transport

The waiting time distribution w(τ), i.e. the probability for a delay τ between two subsequent transition (‘jumps’) of particles, is a statistical tool in (quantum) transport. Using generalized Master equations for systems coupled to external particle reservoirs, one can establish relations between w(τ) and other statistical transport quantities such as the noise spectrum and the Full Counting Statistics. It turns out that w(τ) usually contains additional information on system parameters and properties such as quantum coherence, the number of internal states, or the entropy of the current channels that participate in transport.     

Contact dependence of carrier injection in carbon nanotubes: an ab initio study

We combine ab initio density functional theory with transport calculations to provide a microscopic basis for distinguishing between good and poor metal contacts to nanotubes. Comparing Ti and Pd as examples of different contact metals, we trace back the observed superiority of Pd to the nature of the metal-nanotube hybridization. Based on large scale Landauer transport calculations, we suggest that the optimum metal-nanotube contact combines a weak hybridization with a large contact length between the metal and the nanotube.     

Quantum wire network with magnetic flux

The charge transport and the noise of a quantum wire network, made of three semi-infinite external leads attached to a ring crossed by a magnetic flux, are investigated. The system is driven away from equilibrium by connecting the external leads to heat reservoirs with different temperatures and/or chemical potentials. The properties of the exact scattering matrix of this configuration as a function of the momentum, the magnetic flux and the transmission along the ring are explored. We derive the conductance and the noise, describing in detail the role of the magnetic flux. In the case of weak coupling between the ring and the reservoirs, a resonant tunneling effect is observed. We also discover that a non-zero magnetic flux has a strong impact on the usual Johnson–Nyquist law for the pure thermal noise at small temperatures.     

摇摆型棘齿热电子隧穿制冷

本文利用传输矩阵法数值模拟了电子在加入周期性正负偏压的双势垒("摇摆"棘齿)异质结中的传输特性,获得了两电子库间的净电流以及所伴随的净热流的表达式.进一步分析了净电流、净热流和制冷系数等性能参数的特征,获得的结果对介观热电子器件的研制有一定的理论指导意义. 关键词： 热电子制冷机 摇摆棘齿 性能参数 传输矩阵法