No description available.

With the advance in nanotechnology, we are more interested in the "smaller worlds". One of the practical applications of this is to measure a very small displacement or the mass of a nano-mechanical object. To measure such properties, one needs a very sensitive detector. A quantum point contact (QPC) is one of the most sensitive detectors. In a QPC, electrons tunnel one by one through a tunnel junction (a "hole"). The tunnel junction in a QPC consists of a narrow constriction (nm-wide) between two conductors. To measure the properties of a nano-mechanical object (which acts as a harmonic oscillator), we couple it to a QPC. This coupling effects the electrons tunneling through the QPC junction. By measuring the transport properties of the tunneling electrons, we can infer the properties of the oscillator (i.e. the nano-mechanical object). However, this coupling introduces noise, which reduces the measurement precision. Thus, it is very important to understand this source of noise and to study how it effects the measurement process. We theoretically study the transport properties of electrons through a QPC junction, weakly coupled to a vibration mode of a nano-mechanical oscillator via both the position and the momentum of the oscillator. %We study both the position and momentum based coupling. The transport properties that we study consist of the average flow of current through the junction, given by the one-time correlation of the electron tunneling event, and the current noise given by the two-time correlation of the average current, i.e, the variance. The first comprehensive experimental study of the noise spectrum of a detector coupled to a QPC was performed by the group of Stettenheim et al. Their observed spectral features had two pronounced peaks which depict the noise produced due to the coupling of the QPC with the oscillator and in turn provide evidence of the induced feedback loop (back-action). Benatov and Blencowe theoretically studied these spectral features using the Born approximation and the Markovian approximation. In this case the Born approximation refers to second order perturbation of the interaction Hamiltonian. In this approximation, the electrons tunnel independently, i.e., one by one only, and co-tunneling is disregarded. The Markovian approximation does not take into account the past behavior of the system under time evolution. These two approximations also enable one to study the system analytically, and the noise is calculated using the MacDonald formula. Our main aim for this thesis is to find a suitable theoretical model that would replicate the experimental plots from the work of Stettenheim et al. Our work does not use the Markovian approximation. However, we do use the Born approximation. This is justified as long as the coupling between the oscillator and QPC is weak. We first obtain the non-Markovian unconditional master equation for the reduced density matrix of the system. Non-Markovian dynamics enables us to study, in principle, the full memory effects of the system. From the master equation, we then derive analytical results for the current and the current noise. Due to the non-Markovian nature of our system, the electron tunneling parameters are time-dependent. Therefore, we cannot study the system analytically. We thus numerically solve the current noise expression to obtain the noise spectrum. We then compare our noise spectrum with the experimental noise spectrum. We show that our spectral noise results agree better with the experimental evidence compared to the results obtained using the Markovian approximation. We thus conclude that one needs non-Markovian dynamics to understand the experimental noise spectrum of a QPC coupled to a nano-mechanical oscillator. / Physics

<p>In this work, we study two important themes in the physics of the interacting one-dimensional (1D) electron gas: the transition from one-dimensional to higher dimensional behavior, and the role of inhomogeneity. The interplay between interactions, reduced dimensionality, and inhomogeneity drives a rich variety of phenomena in mesoscopic physics. In 1D, interactions fundamentally alter the nature of the electron gas, and the homogeneous 1D electron gas is described by Luttinger Liquid theory. We use Quantum Monte Carlo methods to study two situations that are beyond Luttinger Liquid theory --- the quantum phase transition from a linear 1D electron system to a quasi-1D zigzag arrangement, and electron localization in quantum point contacts. </p><p>Since the interacting electron gas has fundamentally different behavior in one dimension than in higher dimensions, the transition from 1D to higher dimensional behavior is of both practical and theoretical interest. We study the first stage in such a transition; the quantum phase transition from a 1D linear arrangement of electrons in a quantum wire to a quasi-1D zigzag configuration, and then to a liquid-like phase at higher densities. As the density increases from its lowest values, first, the electrons form a linear Wigner crystal; then, the symmetry about the axis of the wire is broken as the electrons order in a quasi-1D zigzag phase; and, finally, the electrons form a disordered liquid-like phase. We show that the linear to zigzag phase transition occurs even in narrow wires with strong quantum fluctuations, and that it has characteristics which are qualitatively different from the classical transition.</p><p>Experiments in quantum point contacts (QPC's) show an unexplained feature in the conductance known as the ``0.7 Effect''. The presence of the 0.7 effect is an indication of the rich physics present in inhomogeneous systems, and we study electron localization in quantum point contacts to evaluate several different proposed mechanisms for the 0.7 effect. We show that electrons form a Wigner crystal in a 1D constriction; for sharp constriction potentials the localized electrons are separated from the leads by a gap in the density, while for smoother potentials, the Wigner crystal is smoothly connected to the leads. Isolated bound states can also form in smooth constrictions if they are sufficiently long. We thus show that localization can occur in QPC's for a variety of potential shapes and at a variety of electron densities. These results are consistent with the idea that the 0.7 effect and bound states observed in quantum point contacts are two distinct phenomena.</p> / Dissertation

The electrical and thermal conductance and the Seebeck coefficient are calculated for one-dimensional systems, and their behavior as a function of temperature and chemical potential is investigated. It is shown that the conductances are proportional to an average of the transmission probability around the Fermi level with the average taken for the thermal conductance being over a wider range. This has the effect of creating less well-defined plateaus for thermal-conductance quantization experiments. For weak non-linearities, the charge and entropy currents across a quantum point contact are expanded as a series in powers of the applied bias voltage and the temperature difference. After that, the expansions of the Seebeck voltage in temperature difference and the Peltier heat in current are obtained. Also, it is shown that the linear thermal conductance of a quantum point contact displays a half-plateau structure, almost flat regions appearing around half-integer multiples of the conductance quantum. This structure is investigated for the saddle-potential model.

Dans le régime de l'effet Hall quantique, les porteurs de charge se propagent le long de canaux unidimensionnels situés au bords d'un gaz d'électron bidimensionel (2D electron gas, 2DEG). Un contact ponctuel quantique (quantum point contact, QPC) - une constriction étroite confinant spatialement le gaz électronique - permet de contrôler la transmission de ces canaux de bords. Dans un 2DEG conventionnel, une tension négative appliquée sur les grilles électrostatiques du QPC engendre la déplétion locale du gaz électronique sous la grille, forçant les électrons à se propager au travers de la constriction. Cependant, dans le graphène, du fait de l'absence de bande interdite, une tension négative provoque la transition continue du dopage d'électrons à trous. Dans le régime de l'effet Hall quantique, électrons et trous se propagent le long de l'interface p-n dans la même direction, et la diffusion inélastique induit un transfert de charge et du mélange entre eux.Au cours de cette thèse, nous avons fabriqué des dispositifs à base de graphène encapsulé dans deux feuillets de hBN, et munis de grilles électrostatiques définissant un QPC. Nous avons étudié l'effet du QPC sur la propagation des canaux de bords entiers et fractionnaires de l'effet Hall quantique, et sur le mélange entre eux. Dans l'effet Hall quantique, nous avons démontré que les canaux entiers et fractionnaires peuvent être contrôlés et sélectivement transmis au travers de la constriction. Du fait de la haute mobilité de nos structures, et de la levée de dégénérescence complète des niveaux de Landau qui en résulte à fort champ magnétique, l'équilibrage à l'interface p-n est réduit aux sous-niveaux de même spin et au niveau de Landau N=0.Un QPC dans le régime de l'effet Hall quantique constitue également un système idéal pour l'étude de l'effet tunnel des porteurs de charge entre canaux de bords fractionnaires, unidimensionnels et fortement corrélés, se propageant dans des directions opposées, décrits par la théorie de Tomonaga-Luttinger. Nous avons étudié l'effet tunnel entre canaux de bords fractionnaires dans notre structure muni un QPC, en nous concentrant sur l'état fractionnaire 7/3 et la dépendance en température de ses propriétés tunnels. / In the quantum Hall regime, the charge carriers are conducted within one-dimensional channels propagating at the edge of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). A quantum point contact (QPC) – a narrow constriction confining spatially electron transport – can control the transmission of these quantum Hall edge channels. In conventional 2DEG systems, a negative voltage applied on the electrostatic split gates depletes locally the electrons underneath them forcing the electrons to pass through the constriction. In contrast, due to the absence of a band gap in graphene, a negative gate voltage induces a continuous shift of the doping from electrons to holes. In the quantum Hall regime, electron and hole edge channels propagate along the pn-interface in the same direction while inelastic scattering induces charge transfer and mixing between them.In this PhD thesis, we have fabricated ballistic graphene devices made by van der Waals stacking of hBN/Gr/hBN heterostructures, and equipped with split gates forming a quantum point contact (QPC) constriction. We have studied the effect of the QPC on the propagation of integer and fractional quantum Hall edge channels and the mixing among them. In the quantum Hall regime, we demonstrate that the integer and fractional quantum Hall edge channels can be controlled and selectively transmitted by the QPC. Due to the high mobility of our devices and the resultant full lifting of the degeneracies of the Landau levels in strong magnetic field, equilibration at the pn-interface is restricted to sublevels of identical spins of the N=0 Landau level.A QPC in the quantum Hall regime offers also an ideal system to study the tunnelling of charge carriers between counter-propagating fractional edge channels of highly correlated, one-dimensional fermions described by the theory of Tomonaga-Luttinger. We study the tunnelling between fractional quantum Hall edge channels in our QPC device in graphene and focus on the 7/3-fractional state to explore the temperature dependence of tunnelling characteristics.

OLIVEIRA, Claudio Lucas Nunes de. Excitons em Sistemas Quânticos 0-2D. 2005. 116 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Física) - Programa de Pós-Graduação em Física, Departamento de Física, Centro de Ciências, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, 2005. / Submitted by Edvander Pires (edvanderpires@gmail.com) on 2015-05-07T17:09:25Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2005_dis_clnoliveira.pdf: 1729842 bytes, checksum: 61191dfaedb56331176b4cb1c951e7e7 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Edvander Pires(edvanderpires@gmail.com) on 2015-05-07T17:23:51Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2005_dis_clnoliveira.pdf: 1729842 bytes, checksum: 61191dfaedb56331176b4cb1c951e7e7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-07T17:23:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2005_dis_clnoliveira.pdf: 1729842 bytes, checksum: 61191dfaedb56331176b4cb1c951e7e7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / In the last few decades the physics of low dimensional semiconductor systems have attracted much attention due to the potential applications that arise from their due to electronic and optical properties. For example, InGaAs and InGaAsP heterostructures are currently used in optoelectronic applications that operate in the infrared spectrum. In such systems, the con_nement of charges can be realized in one, two or in three dimensions. The optical properties of quantum con_nement systems are basically determined by electronic transitions. Excitons, formed by an electron-hole pair bounded by coulombic interaction, are the responsible for the emission wavelenght. The aim of this work is to computer the ground state exciton energies in quantum wells, cylindrical quantum wires and pyramidal quantum dots as a function of the their size and shape. The results show that the exciton energies of In0:4Ga0:6As/GaAs quantum wells and wires are in the range from 0.9 to 1.3 eV. The results of In0:4Ga0:6As/GaAs pyramidal quantum dots show that the e-lh (e-hh) recombination energies are approximately 1.3-1.4 (1.18-1.28) eV. / A física de sistemas semicondutores de baixa dimensionalidade tem evoluído bastante nas últimas décadas. Em parte, porque essas estruturas oferecem a oportunidade de testarmos vários modelos teóricos, mas também porque existe um grande potencial de aplicação tecnológica derivada das propriedades de tais estruturas e dos materiais que a formam. Como exemplo, temos as heteroestruturas semicondutoras formadas com os materiais InGaAs e InGaAsP que são de grande utilidade em dispositivos optoeletrônicos emitindo na região do infravermelho. Nesses sistemas podemos fazer um confinamento dos portadores de carga, como elétrons e buracos, em uma, duas ou em três direções, aos quais são chamados de poço (2D), fio (1D) e ponto quântico (0D), respectivamente. As propriedades óticas dos semicondutores são determinadas pelos autovalores e autovetores do movimento dos elétrons e buracos. Os excitons que é o par elétron-buraco interagindo entre si são os maiores responsáveis pela emissão (pico da fotoluminescência) em sistemas de confinamento em semicondutores. A interação colombiana e o tipo de confinamento imposto pela construção dessas estruturas junto com suas interfaces graduais afeta o movimento desses portadores. O nosso objetivo neste trabalho é calcular a energia de emissão dos excitons elétron-buraco leve e elétron-buraco pesado em poços, fios cilíndricos e em pontos quânticos piramidais em função de seus parâmetros de dimensionalidade. Os resultados obtidos mostram as energias do exciton no poço e no fio quântico In0.4Ga0.6As/GaAs na mesma ordem de grandeza, estando na faixa de 0.9 à 1.3 eV. Para o ponto piramidal, as energias de recombinação do par e-hh (e-lh) estão na faixa de 1.3-1.4 (1.18-1.28) eV.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / In the last few decades the physics of low dimensional semiconductor systems have attracted much attention due to the potential applications that arise from their due to electronic and optical properties. For example, InGaAs and InGaAsP heterostructures are currently used in optoelectronic applications that operate in the infrared spectrum. In such systems, the con_nement of charges can be realized in one, two or in three dimensions. The optical properties of quantum con_nement systems are basically determined by electronic transitions. Excitons, formed by an electron-hole pair bounded by coulombic interaction, are the responsible for the emission wavelenght. The aim of this work is to computer the ground state exciton energies in quantum wells, cylindrical quantum wires and pyramidal quantum dots as a function of the their size and shape. The results show that the exciton energies of In0:4Ga0:6As/GaAs quantum wells and wires are in the range from 0.9 to 1.3 eV. The results of In0:4Ga0:6As/GaAs pyramidal quantum dots show that the e-lh (e-hh) recombination energies are approximately 1.3-1.4 (1.18-1.28) eV / A fÃsica de sistemas semicondutores de baixa dimensionalidade tem evoluÃdo bastante nas Ãltimas dÃcadas. Em parte, porque essas estruturas oferecem a oportunidade de testarmos vÃrios modelos teÃricos, mas tambÃm porque existe um grande potencial de aplicaÃÃo tecnolÃgica derivada das propriedades de tais estruturas e dos materiais que a formam. Como exemplo, temos as heteroestruturas semicondutoras formadas com os materiais InGaAs e InGaAsP que sÃo de grande utilidade em dispositivos optoeletrÃnicos emitindo na regiÃo do infravermelho. Nesses sistemas podemos fazer um confinamento dos portadores de carga, como elÃtrons e buracos, em uma, duas ou em trÃs direÃÃes, aos quais sÃo chamados de poÃo (2D), fio (1D) e ponto quÃntico (0D), respectivamente. As propriedades Ãticas dos semicondutores sÃo determinadas pelos autovalores e autovetores do movimento dos elÃtrons e buracos. Os excitons que à o par elÃtron-buraco interagindo entre si sÃo os maiores responsÃveis pela emissÃo (pico da fotoluminescÃncia) em sistemas de confinamento em semicondutores. A interaÃÃo colombiana e o tipo de confinamento imposto pela construÃÃo dessas estruturas junto com suas interfaces graduais afeta o movimento desses portadores. O nosso objetivo neste trabalho à calcular a energia de emissÃo dos excitons elÃtron-buraco leve e elÃtron-buraco pesado em poÃos, fios cilÃndricos e em pontos quÃnticos piramidais em funÃÃo de seus parÃmetros de dimensionalidade. Os resultados obtidos mostram as energias do exciton no poÃo e no fio quÃntico In0.4Ga0.6As/GaAs na mesma ordem de grandeza, estando na faixa de 0.9 à 1.3 eV. Para o ponto piramidal, as energias de recombinaÃÃo do par e-hh (e-lh) estÃo na faixa de 1.3-1.4 (1.18-1.28) eV.

Electron transport in mesoscopic systems, such as quantum point contacts and Aharonov-Bohm rings are investigated numerically in a tight-binding language with a recursive Green's function algorithm. The simulation reveals among other things the quantized nature of the conductance in point contacts, the Hall conductance, the decreasing sensitivity to scattering impurities in a magnetic field, and the periodic magnetoconductance in an Aharonov-Bohm ring. Furthermore, the probability density distributions for some different setups are mapped, making the transmission coefficients, the quantum Hall effect, and the cyclotron radius visible, where the latter indicates the correspondance between quantum mechanics and classical physics on the mesoscopic scale.

No description available.

La technique de la microscopie à grille de balayage (SGM) consiste à mesurer la conductance d'un gaz bidimensionnel d'électrons (2DEG) sous l'influence d'une pointe balayant la surface de l'échantillon. Dans ce travail, une approche analytique complétée par des simulations numériques est développée pour étudier la relation entre les mesures SGM et les propriétés électroniques locales dans des systèmes mésoscopiques. La correspondance entre la réponse SGM et la densité locale partielle (PLDOS) est étudiée pour un contact quantique entouré d’un 2DEG en présence ou en absence de désordre, pour une pointe perturbative ou non perturbative. Une correspondance SGM-PLDOS parfaite est trouvée pour des transmissions entières et des pointes locales. La dégradation de la correspondance en dehors de cette situation est étudiée. D’autre part, la liaison entre la réponse SGM et la transformée de Hilbert de la densité locale est discutée. Pour étudier le rôle de la force de la pointe sur la conductance SGM, une formule analytique donnant la conductance totale est obtenue. Dans le cas d'une pointe à taille finie nous proposons une méthode basée sur les fonctions de Green permettant de calculer la conductance en connaissant les propriétés non-perturbées. En plus, nous avons étudié la dépendance des branches de la PLDOS en fonction de l’énergie de Fermi. / The scanning gate microscopy (SGM) technique consists in measuring the conductance of a two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) under the influence of a scanning tip. In this work, an analytical approach complemented by numerical simulations is developed to study the connection between SGM measurements and local electronic properties in mesoscopic devices. The connection between the SGM response and the partial local density of states (PLDOS) is studied for the case of a quantum point contact surrounded by clean or disordered 2DEG for perturbative or non-perturbative, local or extended tips. An SGM-PLDOS correspondence is found for integer transmissions and local tips. The degradation of this correspondence out of these conditions is studied. Moreover, a presumed link between the SGM response and the Hilbert transform of the LDOS is discussed. To study the role of the tip strength, an analytical formula giving the full conductance in the case of local tips is obtained. Furthermore, a Green function method enabling to calculate the quantum conductance in the presence of a finite size tip in terms of the unperturbed properties is proposed. Finally the dependence of the PLDOS branches on the Fermi energy is studied.