Electron transport through mesoscopic ring

The quantum transport properties of a non-interacting mesoscopic ring sandwiched between two metallic electrodes are investigated by the use of Green's function technique. Here, we introduce parametric approach, based on the tight-binding model to study these transport properties. The electronic transport properties are focused in three aspects: (a) geometry of the mesoscopic ring, (b) coupling strength of the ring with the two electrodes and (c) magnetic flux threaded by the ring.     

Electron transport through asymmetric DNA molecules

We investigate quantum mechanical electron transport along the long axis of the DNA molecule using an effective tight-binding model. The overall contour plot of transmission, the current-voltage characteristics, and the differential conductance are examined for the variation of backbone onsite energy, the energy-dependent hopping strength, and the contact coupling between the leads and the DNA molecule. It is shown that as backbone asymmetry increases, the merging and collapse of the two mini-bands take place and an extra resonance peak in the transmission appears. In addition, we present the modulation of voltage threshold in the current-voltage curves and a double-peak structure in the differential conductance due to the disappearance of the merged mini-band. Finally, in the Coulomb blockade regime of asymmetric contact coupling, a distinct and under-unity resonance in the transmission appears due to the interference effects between the DNA molecular bands and the electronic structure of the leads at the DNA-lead interface.     

Low temperature transport properties of thin SOI MOSFETs

Fabrication and 4.2 K mobility measurements of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) metal–oxide-field-effect-transistors are reported. The three sets of samples fabricated in this work include devices for which the SOI film thicknesses (t_SOI) are in the ranges of 10–15, 16–19 and 56–61 nm. The peak mobility of the devices that have the SOI film thickness above 16.5 nm is 1.9 m²/V s. The set of devices with thinnest channel (t_SOI=10–15 nm) suggest that the peak mobility decreases with decreasing t_SOI.     

Electron transport phenomenon simulation through the carborane nano-molecular wire

The electron transport characteristics of a 1,10-dimethylene-1,10-dicarba-closo-decaborane (10-vertex carborane) single molecular conductor is investigated via the density functional-based non-equilibrium Green's function (DFT-NEGF) method. We consider three configurations for the molecular wire sandwiched between two Au(1 0 0) electrodes: the hollow site, top site and bridge site positions. Our results show that the energetically favorable hollow site configuration has a higher current intensity than the other configurations.The projection of the density of states (PDOS) and the transmission coefficients T(E) of the two-probe system at zero bias are analyzed, and it suggests that the variation of the coupling between the molecule and the electrodes with external bias leads to the higher conductance for the hollow configuration.Furthermore, the transmission coefficients of the hollow system at various external voltage biases are also investigated and it shows that the broadening of the transmission coefficient spectrum with increasing of the external voltage bias indicates a strong coupling between the molecular orbitals in the carborane and the incident states from the electrodes, and thus the current increases with increases of the bias voltage.     

Antiresonance and decoupling in electronic transport through parallel-coupled quantum-dot structures with laterally-coupled Majorana zero modes

We theoretically investigate the electronic transport through a parallel-coupled multi-quantum-dot system, in which the terminal dots of a one-dimensional quantum-dot chain are embodied in the two arms of an Aharonov–Bohm interferometer. It is found that in the structures of odd(even) dots, all their even(odd) molecular states have opportunities to decouple from the leads, and in this process antiresonance occurs which are accordant with the odd(even)-numbered eigenenergies of the sub-molecule without terminal dots. Next when Majorana zero modes are introduced to couple laterally to the terminal dots, the antiresonance and decoupling phenomena still co-exist in the quantum transport process. Such a result can be helpful in understanding the special influence of Majorana zero mode on the electronic transport through quantum-dot systems.     

Electron transport through molecular wire: effect of isomery

We report the electronic transport property of molecular wires by an ab inito molecular orbital theory on the basis of the first-principle density functional theory (DFT) and the non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) formalism. The wires consist of three kinds of isomer molecules (pyrimidine, pyrazine and pyridazine, shown in the first figure) which are attached to the atomic scale gold electrodes. Our calculation reveal: (1) the relative position of the double nitrogen atoms in the molecular rings can significantly affect the transport behavior due to change in the electronic structure of the molecule and (2) the conductance of pyrazine exhibits an ohmic character on a large range.     

Dynamical behavior of electron transport in AlGaAs/GaAs double-barrier structures under a high-frequency radiation field

We investigate the time-dependent dynamical behavior of electron transport in AlGaAs/GaAs double-barrier structures under a high-frequency radiation field. The effects of the radiation field with different amplitude and frequency on the real-time and mean current-voltage curves are taken into account. We find that the amplitude and frequency of the radiation field affect the final stable state current-voltage (I-V) behaviors, which leads to the switching between different current states at a smaller bias than that of the absence of the radiation field, and both current hysteresis and resonant peaks are suppressed by the external radiation field. The high radiation field strength can make the resonant peak of current split and the hysteresis of current disappear. This effect provides the potential to use double-barrier structure as a THz photoelectric switch.     

Electron transport of a quantum wire with spatially periodic spin–orbit coupling

Electron transport properties of an ideal one-dimensional (1D) quantum wire are studied including spatially periodic Rashba spin–orbit coupling (SOC) and Dresselhaus SOC. By comparing with the previous work [S.J. Gong, Z.Q. Yang, J. Phys. Condens. Matter 19 (2007) 446209], two transmission gaps appear in the transmission probability of electrons and their widths are also broadened dramatically. Moreover, it is found that their widths are sensitive not only to the strength of SOCs but also to the length ratio of SOCs segment and non-SOCs segment. In addition, a ‘circle-type’ transmission behavior has been found by tuning the strength of SOCs continuously. Our results may extend the previous work and provide an more effective method to manipulate the current in nanoelectric devices.     

Spin‐Polarized Symmetric Electron‐Hole Quantum Bilayers: Finite width Effect

In this paper, the effect of finite width on ground‐state properties of a spin‐polarized symmetric electron‐hole quantum bilayers (EHBL) system is investigated at zero temperature. The quantum self‐consistent mean‐field approximation of Singwi, Tosi, Land and Sjölander (qSTLS) is adopted to explore intra‐ and interlayer properties such as the pair‐correlation function, the static density susceptibility, the local‐field corrections and the ground‐state energy. Interestingly, we noticed that due to the inclusion of finite width, the critical density for the onset of Wigner crystal (WC) phase is now lowered as compared to the recent spin‐polarized EHBL system without finite width and unpolarized EHBL system with finite width. Further, spin‐polarization effect is seem to introduce a marked change in the ground‐state energy of EHBL system as compared to that of unpolarized system. Results of ground‐state energy are also compared with the recent EHBL system without finite width (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

石墨烯纳米带电极区N掺杂电子输运性质研究

运用密度泛函理论和非平衡格林函数结合的方法,研究电极区N掺杂对扶手椅型石墨烯纳米带电子输运特性的影响.结果表明,与本征扶手椅型石墨烯纳米带电流-电压曲线相比,宽度为7的石墨烯纳米带电流-电压曲线表现出明显的不对称性,其中心N掺杂表现强烈的整流特性,整流系数达到102数量级,且将N原子从电极区中心位置移动到边缘,整流特性减弱.研究结果表明宽度为7的扶手椅型石墨烯纳米带出现强整流现象的原因主要是负向偏压下能量窗内没有透射峰引起的,该研究结果对将来石墨烯整流器件的设计具有重要的意义.     

Electron transport in electrically biased inverse parabolic double-barrier structure

A theoretical study of resonant tunneling is carried out for an inverse parabolic double-barrier structure subjected to an external electric field. Tunneling transmission coefficient and density of states are analyzed by using the non-equilibrium Green's function approach based on the finite difference method. It is found that the resonant peak of the transmission coefficient, being unity for a symmetrical case, reduces under the applied electric field and depends strongly on the variation of the structure parameters.     

Electron transport layer engineering with rubidium chloride alkali halide to boost the performance of perovskite absorber layer

The mesoscopic perovskite solar cells (PSCs) based on titanium oxide (TiO₂) with a certified 25.2% efficiency are the forefront devices in the PSCs field. Hence, it can conclude the mesoporous titanium oxide (mp-TiO₂) is one of the most promising candidates to use as an electron transport layer (ETL) in PSCs. Improving the conductivity of mp-TiO₂ can consider as a simple route to motivate the electron extraction ability of this layer and increase the efficiency of PSCs. Herein, rubidium chloride (RbCl) was introduced as an additive source to boost the optoelectronic properties of mp-TiO₂ ETL. It was observed through ETL modification with RbCl, the optical transmittance of mp-TiO₂ remains constant but increases its electro-conductivity. Results showed that the morphology and crystalline properties of the perovskite layer with a modified ETL substrate is improved. It indicates a perovskite layer with enlarger grains and lower lead iodide (PbI₂) surplus. Altogether, ETL modification brings a champion efficiency of 11.10% for hole transport layer (HTL)-free PSCs higher than that of 8.65% for the HTL-free PSCs based on pristine ETL. Besides, Modified PSCs compared to pristine PSCs showed higher stability response as a result of lower grain boundaries in the modified perovskite layer.     

N、O、S及羰基掺杂吐昔烯衍生物的电荷传输性质

基于电子转移的Marcus模型,以3,8,13-三丙烷氧基吐昔烯(a分子)为母体,采用密度泛函理论方法,在M062X/6-31+G(d)水平计算研究吐昔烯刚性核上的三个亚甲基被氮原子、氧原子、硫原子及羰基取代后所得的b、c、d、e等5个衍生物分子的结构和电荷传输性质.计算结果表明,b、d、e等3个吐昔烯衍生物分子的最低能量吸收峰均发生一定程度的红移(吸收波长在279-292 nm范围);掺杂氮原子、硫原子后,空穴传输载流子迁移率(μ_+)与电子传输载流子迁移率(μ_-)均明显增大,但μ_+比μ_-增加的幅度更大,更有利于空穴传输.掺杂氮原子,空穴迁移速率(μ_+)和电子迁移速率(μ_-)减小;掺杂羰基后,电子迁移速率(μ_-)增大,有利于电子传输,可设计为较好的电子传输材料.     

Electron transport in armchair single-wall carbon nanotubes

The rates of electron scattering via phonons in the armchair single-wall carbon nanotubes were calculated by using the improved scattering theory within the tight-binding approximation. Therefore, the problem connected with the discrepancy of the scattering rates calculated in the framework of the classical scattering theory and ones predicted by experimental data was clarified. Then these results were used for the solving of the kinetic Boltzmann equation to describe electron transport properties of the nanotubes. The equation was solved numerically by using both the finite difference approach and the Monte Carlo simulation procedure.     

Quantum walk transport on carbon nanotube structures

We study source-to-sink excitation transport on carbon nanotubes using the concept of quantum walks. In particular, we focus on transport properties of Grover coined quantum walks on ideal and percolation perturbed nanotubes with zig-zag and armchair chiralities. Using analytic and numerical methods we identify how geometric properties of nanotubes and different types of a sink altogether control the structure of trapped states and, as a result, the overall source-to-sink transport efficiency. It is shown that chirality of nanotubes splits behavior of the transport efficiency into a few typically well separated quantitative branches. Based on that we uncover interesting quantum transport phenomena, e.g. increasing the length of the tube can enhance the transport and the highest transport efficiency is achieved for the thinnest tube. We also demonstrate, that the transport efficiency of the quantum walk on ideal nanotubes may exhibit even oscillatory behavior dependent on length and chirality.     

Effects of intersubband interaction on multisubband electron transport in single and double quantum wells

The multisubband electron transport properties are studied for doped single quantum well and gated double asymmetric quantum well structures. The effects due to intersubband interaction and screening of the ionized impurity scattering are also investigated. We show that intersubband coupling plays an essential role in describing the screening properties as well as the effect of ionized impurity scattering on the mobility in a doped single quantum well. For coupled double quantum well structures, negative transconductance is found theoretically which is due to resonant tunneling between the two quantum wells.     

Electron crystallization using localized representation

The character of the ground state of the electron crystal—an electron gas with periodic density and/or spin density is investigated. Calculations for non-magnetic, ferromagnetic and anti-ferromagnetic electron crystals based on the Koster-Kohn variational principle for direct calculation of Wannier functions are presented. The Wannier function is approximated by a symmetrically orthonormalized Gaussian. The orbital exponent of the Gaussian is used as a variational parameter. The effect of the positive background is suitably taken into account. The results of our calculation support Wigner’s prediction of electron crystallization.     

Time-dependent transport through a quantum dot with the over-dot (bridge) additional tunneling channel

The time-dependent electron transport through a quantum dot with the additional over-dot (bridge) tunneling channel within the evolution operator technique has been studied. The microwave field applied to the leads and quantum dot has been considered and influence of the time-dependent shift of corresponding energy levels on the quantum dot charge and current flowing in the system, its time-averaged values and derivatives of the average current with respect to the gate and source–drain bias voltages have been investigated. The influence of the over-dot tunneling channel on the photon-assisted tunneling has been also studied.     

两端线型双量子点分子Aharonov-Bohm干涉仪电输运

设计一个两端线型双量子点分子Aharonov-Bohm (A-B)干涉仪. 采用非平衡格林函数技术, 理论研究无含时外场作用下的体系电导和引入含时外场作用下的体系平均电流. 在不考虑含时外场时, 调节点间耦合强度或磁通可以诱导电导共振峰劈裂. 控制穿过A-B干涉仪磁通的有无, 实现了共振峰电导数值在0与1之间的数字转换, 为制造量子开关提供了一个新的物理方案. 同时借助磁通和Rashba自旋轨道相互作用, 获得了自旋过滤. 当体系引入含时外场时, 平均电流曲线展示了旁带效应. 改变含时外场的振幅, 实现了体系平均电流的大小与位置的有效控制, 而调节含时外场的频率, 则可以实现平均电流峰与谷之间的可逆转换. 通过调节磁通与Rashba自旋轨道相互作用, 与自旋相关的平均电流亦得到有效控制. 研究结果为开发利用耦合多量子点链嵌入A-B 干涉仪体系电输运性质提供了新的认知. 上述结果可望对未来的量子器件设计与量子计算发挥重要的指导作用.     

Electron transport through the electromechanical quantum dots devices

In the nanometer structure, the island with discrete energy spectrum should be considered. The transport characteristics of an electromechanical quantum dots device at zero temperature are investigated by using Monte Carlo method. An indirect and effective method is applied to estimate the trend of the current curves, by analyzing the average electrostatic forces. The current–voltage curves show the Coulomb blockade phenomena, which is the result of the interaction between discrete levels and the island vibration.