Numerical investigation of shot-noise suppression in diffusive conductors

Abstract

We present a numerical study of shot noise in diffusive mesoscopic conductors, aimed at a quantitative understanding of the conditions needed for achieving the $1/3$ suppression factor predicted from random matrix theory. We investigate both two-dimensional and three-dimensional conductors, with a hard-wall model in which elastic scatterers are represented by randomly positioned obstacles. Finally, we discuss the effect on noise of obstacles of finite height, comparable with the Fermi level, and comment on the possibility of similar effects in wires obtained by means of electrostatic depletion in modulation doped semiconductor heterostructures.