Anisotropic Ballistic Transport through a Potential Barrier on Monolayer Phosphorene

We demonstrate theoretically the anisotropic quantum transport of electrons through a single barrier on monolayer phosphorene. Using an effective k .p Hamiltonian, we find that the transmission probability for transport through n-n-n （or n p-n） junction is an oscillating function of the incident angle, the barrier height, as well as the incident energy of electrons. The conductance in such systems depends sensitively on the transport direction due to the anisotropic effective mass. By tuning the Fermi energy and gate voltage, the channels can be transited from opaque to transparent, which provides us with an efficient way to control the transport of monolayer phosphorene-based microstructures.

Ballistic transport and quantum interference in InSb nanowire devices

An experimental realization of a ballistic superconductor proximitized semiconductor nanowire device is a necessary step towards engineering topological quantum electronics. Here, we report on ballistic transport in In Sb nanowires grown by molecular-beam epitaxy contacted by superconductor electrodes. At an elevated temperature, clear conductance plateaus are observed at zero magnetic field and in agreement with calculations based on the Landauer formula. At lower temperature, we have observed characteristic Fabry–Pérot patterns which confirm the ballistic nature of charge transport.Furthermore, the magnetoconductance measurements in the ballistic regime reveal a periodic variation related to the Fabry–Pérot oscillations. The result can be reasonably explained by taking into account the impact of magnetic field on the phase of ballistic electron＇s wave function, which is further verified by our simulation. Our results pave the way for better understanding of the quantum interference effects on the transport properties of In Sb nanowires in the ballistic regime as well as developing of novel device for topological quantum computations.

Ballistic Transport through a Strained Region on Monolayer Phosphorene

We investigate quanturn transport of carriers through a strained region on monolayer phosphorene theoretically. The electron tunneling is forbidden when the incident angle exceeds a critical value. The critical angles for electrons tunneling through a strain region for different strengths and directions of the strains are different. Owing to the anisotropic effective masses, the conductance shows a strong anisotropic behavior. By tuning the Fermi energy and strain, the channels can be transited from opaque to transparent, which provides us with an efiqcient way to control the transport of monolayer phosphorene-based microstruetures.

Silicene nanoribbons on transition metal dichalcogenide substrates： Effects on electronic structure and ballistic transport

The idea of stacking multiple monolayers of different two-dimensional materials has become a global pursuit. In this work a silicene armchair nanoribbon of width W and van der Waals-bonded to different transition-metal dichalcogenide （TMD） bilayer substrates MoX2 and WX2, where X = S, Se, Te is considered. The orbital resolved electronic structure and ballistic transport properties of these systems are simulated by employing van der Waals-corrected density functional theory and nonequilibrium Green＇s functions. We find that the lattice mismatch with the underlying substrate determines the electronic structure, correlated with the silicene buckling distortion and ultimately with the contact resistance of the two-terminal system. The smallest lattice mismatch, obtained with the MoTe2 substrate, results in the silicene ribbon properties coming close to those of a freestanding one. With the TMD bilayer acting as a dielectric layer, the electronic structure is tunable from a direct to an indirect semiconducting layer, and subsequently to a metallic electronic dispersion layer, with a moderate applied perpendicular electric field.

Ballistic transport in single-layer MoS2 piezotronic transistors

Because of the coupling between semiconducting and piezoelectric properties in wurtzite materials, strain-induced piezo-charges can tune the charge transport across the interface or junction, which is referred to as the piezotronic effect. For devices whose dimension is much smaller than the mean free path of carriers （such as a single atomic layer of MoS2）, ballistic transport occurs. In this study, transport in the monolayer MoS2 piezotronic transistor is studied by presenting analytical solutions for two-dimensional （2D） MoS2. Furthermore, a numerical simulation for guiding future 2D piezotronic nanodevice design is presented.

Unified semiclassical approach to electronic transport from diffusive to ballistic regimes

We show that by integrating out the electric field and incorporating proper boundary conditions,a Boltzmann equation can describe electron transport properties,continuously from the diffusive to ballistic regimes.General analytical formulas of the conductance in D = 1,2,3 dimensions are obtained,which recover the Boltzmann–Drude formula and Landauer–B ¨uttiker formula in the diffusive and ballistic limits,respectively.This intuitive and efficient approach can be applied to investigate the interplay of system size and impurity scattering in various charge and spin transport phenomena,when the quantum interference effect is not important.

Electronic Transport Calculations Using Maximally-Localized Wannier Functions

I present a method to calculate the ballistic transport properties of atomic-scale structures under bias. The electronic structure of the system is calculated using the Kohn-Sham scheme of density functionai theory （DFT）. The DFT eigenvectors are then transformed into a set of maximaily localized Wannier functions （MLWFs） [N. Maxzari and D. Vanderbilt, Phys. Rev. B 56 （1997） 12847]. The MLWFs are used as a minimai basis set to obtain the Hamitonian matrices of the scattering region and the adjacent leads, which are needed for transport calculation using the nonequilibrium Green＇s function formalism. The coupling of the scattering region to the semi-infinite leads is described by the self-energies of the leads. Using the nonequilibrium Green＇s function method, one calculates self-consistently the charge distribution of the system under bias and evaluates the transmission and current through the system. To solve the Poisson equation within the scheme of MLWFs I introduce a computationally efficient method. The method is applied to a molecular hydrogen contact in two transition metal monatomic wires （Cu and Pt）. It is found that for Pt the I-V characteristics is approximately linear dependence, however, for Cu the I-V characteristics manifests a linear dependence at low bias voltages and exhibits apparent nonlinearity at higher bias voltages. I have also calculated the transmission in the zero bias voltage limit for a single CO molecule adsorbed on Cu and Pt monatomic wires. While a chemical scissor effect occurs for the Cu monatomic wire with an adsorbed CO molecule, it is absent for the Pt monatomie wire due to the contribution of d-orbitals at the Fermi energy,

Confined State and Electronic Transport in an Artificial Graphene-Based Tunnel Junction

Artificial graphene structures embedded in semiconductors could open novel routes for studies of electron interactions in 1ow-dimensional systems. We propose a way to manipulate the transport properties of massless Dirac fermions in an artificial graphene-based tunnel junction. Velocity-modulation control of electron wave propagation in the different regions can be regarded as velocity barriers. Transmission probability of electron is affected profoundly by this velocity barrier. We find that there is no confinement for Dirac electron as the velocity ratio ζ is less than 1, but when the velocity ratio is larger than 1 the confined state appears in the continuum band. These localized Dirac electrons may lead to the decreasing of transmission probability.

The past and future of multi-gate field-effect transistors:Process challenges and reliability issues

This work reviews the state-of-the art multi-gate field-effect transistor(MuGFET)process technologies and compares the device performance and reliability characteristics of the MuGFETs with the planar Si CMOS devices.Owing to the 3D wrapped gate structure,MuGFETs can suppress the SCEs and improve the ON-current performance due to the volume inversion of the channel region.As the Si CMOS technology pioneers to sub-10 nm nodes,the process challenges in terms of lithography capability,process integration controversies,performance variability etc.were also discussed in this work.Due to the severe self-heating effect in the MuGFETs,the ballistic transport and reliability characteristics were investigated.Future alternatives for the current Si MuGFET technology were discussed at the end of the paper.More work needs to be done to realize novel high mobility channel MuGFETs with better performance and reliability.

Ballistic thermal transport in a cylindrical quantum structure modulated with double quantum dots

Ballistic thermal transport properties in a cylindrical quantum structure modulated with double quantum dots(DQDs) are investigated.Results show that the transmission coefficients exhibit the irregular oscillation.Some resonant transmission peaks and stop-frequency gaps can be observed,and the number and positions of these peaks and gaps are sensitive to the sizes of DQDs.With increasing the temperature,the thermal conductance undergoes a transition from the decrease to increase,and can be efficiently tuned by modulating the radius,length of DQDs as well as the interval between DQDs.In addition,at low temperatures,the enhancement of the thermal conductance can be also observed in this case.Some similarities and differences between the cylindrical and rectangular structures are identified.

Spin Polarizations of Electron with Rashba Couplings in T-Shaped Devices:A Finite Element Approach

A generalized finite element formulation is proposed for the study of the spin-dependent ballistic transport of electron through the two-dimensional quantum structures with Rashba spin-orbit interactions （SOI）. The transmission coefficient, conductance, the total and local polarization are numerically calculated and discussed as the Rashba eoefficient, the geometric sizes, and incident energy are changed in the T-shaped devices. Some interesting features are found in the proper parameter regime. The polarization has an enhancement as the Rashba coefficient becomes stronger. The polarization valley is rigid in the regime of the conductance plateaus since the local interference among the polarized multi-wave modes. The Rashba interactions coupling to geometry in sizes could form the structure-induced Fano-Rashba resonance. In the wider stub, the localized spin lattice of electron could be produced. The conductance plateaus correspond to weak polarizations. Strong polarizations appear when the stub sizes, incident energy, and the Rashba coupling coefficient are matched. The resonances are formed in a wide Fermi energy segment easily.

Direct Current Generation in Carbon Nanotubes by Terahertz Field

We report on a theoretical investigation of a direct current generation in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) that are stimulated axially by terahertz (THz) field. We consider the kinetic approach based on the semiclassical Boltzmann’s transport equation with constant relaxation time approximation, together with the energy spectrum of an electron in the tight-binding approximation. Our results indicate that for strong THz-fields, there is simultaneous generation of DC current in the axial and circumferential directions of the CNTs, even at room temperature. We found that a THz-field can induce a negative conductivity in the CNTs that leads to the THz field induced DC current. For varying amplitude of the THz-field, the current density decreases rapidly and modulates around zero with interval of negative conductivity. The interval decreases with increasing the amplitude of the THz-field. We show that the THz-field can cause fast switching from a zero DC current to a finite DC current due to the quasi-ballistic transport, and that electron scattering is a necessary condition for switching.

The 0.7-Anomaly in Quantum Point Contact;Many-Body or Single-Electron Effect?

Apart from usual quantization steps on the ballistic conductance of quasi-one-dimensional conductor, an additional plateau-like feature appears at a fraction of about 0.7 below the first conductance step in GaAs-based quantum point contacts (QPCs). Despite a tremendous amount of research on this anomalous feature, its origin remains still unclear. Here, a unique model of this anomaly is proposed relying on fundamental principles of quantum mechanics. It is noticed that just after opening a quasi-1D conducting channel in the QPC a single electron travels the channel at a time, and such electron can be—in principle—observed. The act of observation destroys superposition of spin states, in which the electron otherwise exists, and this suppresses their quantum interference. It is shown that then the QPC-conductance is reduced by a factor of 0.74. “Visibility” of electron is enhanced if the electron spends some time in the channel due to resonant transmission. Electron’s resonance can also explain an unusual temperature behavior of the anomaly as well as its recently discovered feature: oscillatory modulation as a function of the channel length and electrostatic potential. A recipe for experimental verification of the model is given.