Thermal rectification with interacting electronic channels: Exploiting degeneracy, quantum superpositions, and interference

Abstract

This work explores different mechanisms that induce thermal rectification in the nanoscale. The presence of interacting energy channels combined with simple asymmetries is sufficient for promoting the desired behavior. We use simple quantum dot configurations, identifying the basic properties that enhance rectification for each case: the size of a quantum dot state space (which suggests the use of scaled up systems with many interacting channels), tunneling asymmetries due to coherent tunneling in a double quantum dot, or quantum interference in a triangular triple quantum dot. An efficient and tunable thermal diode is proposed using a channel capacitively coupled to a mesoscopic switch.