Coherent Quantum Transport Research Articles

Effects of Oscillatory Deformations on the Coherent and Incoherent Quantum Transport

Inspired by the works of [F. Caruso, New J. Phys. 16, 055015 (2014)] and [T. Scholak et al, J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 44 184012 (2011)], which state that for a large class of complex noisy networks, the optimal efficiency of quantum transport is universally obtained by mixing coherent (Hamiltonian) and incoherent (noisy) parts where the contribution of the coherent part is strictly more than incoherent one, we examine the effect of oscillatory deformations on two simple prototypes in order to study their effects on the efficiency of coherent and incoherent energy transport. The prototypes are interchangeable to each other only by a simple phase modulation, such that the dynamics for the first type is only coherent, while for the second one the coherent evolution is completely suppressed and the evolution of the system is only incoherent (noisy). In this regard, it is shown that there exist a special deformation by which the efficiency of incoherent transport becomes better than the coherent one. This result suggests that in the noisy networks with collective harmonic motions, the optimality of transport can be occurred in such a way that the contribution of incoherent term is more than the coherent one.

Quantum Ratchet in Disordered Quantum Walk

Symmetrically evolving discrete quantum walk results in dynamic localization with zero mean displacement when the standard evolution operations are replaced by a temporal disorder evolution operation. In this work we show that the quantum ratchet action, that is, a directed transport in standard or disordered discrete‐time quantum walk can be realized by introducing a pawl like effect realized by using a fixed coin operation at marked positions that is, different from the ones used for evolution at other positions. We also show that the combination of standard and disordered evolution operations can be optimized to get the mean displacement of order ∝ t (number of walk steps). This model of quantum ratchet in quantum walk is defined using only a set of entangling unitary operators resulting in the coherent quantum transport.

Rabi-like vibrational coherence transfer in a hydrogen-bonded charge transfer material

We report ultrafast spectroscopic measurements of intersite charge transfer in a single crystal of the hydrogen-bonded material quinhydrone showing anticorrelated dynamics of vibrational coherences at 172 and $216\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. To explain these coherent dynamics we derive a density matrix model in the presence of higher order electron-vibration coupling. Given the symmetry of vibrations calculated using density functional theory, the Huang-Rhys parameter of the Raman-active vibration found from spontaneous resonance light scattering measurements, and previously reported nonresonant impulsive stimulated Raman scattering measurements on quinhydrone, we restrict the density matrix model to three levels in the excited state of this material to simulate the observed dynamics with a density matrix approach. The close agreement between the experiment and our theoretical treatment leads us to conclude that the measured behavior corresponds to intermolecular Rabi-like oscillatory coherence transfer. These results provide foundational knowledge into the capability of functional organic materials to support quantum coherent transport of charge and energy as well as shed light on recent experimental and theoretical investigations of room temperature organic ferroelectrics.

A Multiscale Modeling of Triple-Heterojunction Tunneling FETs

A high performance triple-heterojunction (3HJ) design has been previously proposed for tunneling FETs (TFETs). Compared with single heterojunction (HJ) TFETs, the 3HJ TFETs have both shorter tunneling distance and two transmission resonances that significantly improve the ON-state current ($I_{\rm{ON}}$). Coherent quantum transport simulation predicts, that $I_{\rm{ON}}=460\rm{\mu A/\mu m}$ can be achieved at gate length $Lg=15\rm{nm}$, supply voltage $V_{\rm{DD}}=0.3\rm{V}$, and OFF-state current $I_{\rm{OFF}}=1\rm{nA/\mu m}$. However, strong electron-phonon and electron-electron scattering in the heavily doped leads implies, that the 3HJ devices operate far from the ideal coherent limit. In this study, such scattering effects are assessed by a newly developed multiscale transport model, which combines the ballistic non-equilibrium Green's function method for the channel and the drift-diffusion scattering method for the leads. Simulation results show that the thermalizing scattering in the leads both degrades the 3HJ TFET's subthreshold swing through scattering induced leakage and reduces the turn-on current through the access resistance. Assuming bulk scattering rates and carrier mobilities, the $I_{\rm{ON}}$ is dropped from $460\rm{\mu A/\mu m}$ down to $254\rm{\mu A/\mu m}$, which is still much larger than the single HJ TFET case.

Giant electron-hole transport asymmetry in ultra-short quantum transistors

Making use of bipolar transport in single-wall carbon nanotube quantum transistors would permit a single device to operate as both a quantum dot and a ballistic conductor or as two quantum dots with different charging energies. Here we report ultra-clean 10 to 100 nm scale suspended nanotube transistors with a large electron-hole transport asymmetry. The devices consist of naked nanotube channels contacted with sections of tube under annealed gold. The annealed gold acts as an n-doping top gate, allowing coherent quantum transport, and can create nanometre-sharp barriers. These tunnel barriers define a single quantum dot whose charging energies to add an electron or a hole are vastly different (e−h charging energy asymmetry). We parameterize the e−h transport asymmetry by the ratio of the hole and electron charging energies ηe−h. This asymmetry is maximized for short channels and small band gap tubes. In a small band gap device, we demonstrate the fabrication of a dual functionality quantum device acting as a quantum dot for holes and a much longer quantum bus for electrons. In a 14 nm-long channel, ηe−h reaches up to 2.6 for a device with a band gap of 270 meV. The charging energies in this device exceed 100 meV.

Combination of Equilibrium and Nonequilibrium Carrier Statistics Into an Atomistic Quantum Transport Model for Tunneling Heterojunctions

Tunneling hetero-junctions (THJs) usually induce confined states at the regions close to the tunnel junction which significantly affect their transport properties. Accurate numerical modeling of such effects requires combining the non-equilibrium coherent quantum transport through tunnel junction, as well as the quasi-equilibrium statistics arising from the strong scattering in the induced quantum wells. In this work, a novel atomistic model is proposed to include both effects: the strong scattering in the regions around THJ and the coherent tunneling. The new model matches reasonably well with experimental measurements of Nitride THJ and provides an efficient engineering tool for performance prediction and design of THJ based devices.

Performance degradation of superlattice MOSFETs due to scattering in the contacts

Ideal, completely coherent quantum transport calculations had predicted that superlattice MOSFETs (SL-MOSFET) may offer steep subthreshold swing performance below 60 mV/dec to around 39 mV/dec. However, the high carrier density in the superlattice source suggests that scattering may significantly degrade the ideal device performance. Such effects of electron scattering and decoherence in the contacts of SL-MOSFETs are examined through a multi-scale quantum transport model developed in NEMO5. This model couples the NEGF-based quantum ballistic transport in the channel to a quantum mechanical density of states dominated reservoir, which is thermalized through strong scattering with local quasi-Fermi levels determined by drift-diffusion transport. The simulations show that scattering increases the electron transmission in the nominally forbidden minigap, therefore, degrading the subthreshold swing (S.S.) and the ON/OFF DC current ratio. This degradation varies with both the scattering rate and the length of the scattering dominated regions. Different SL-MOSFET designs are explored to mitigate the effects of such deleterious scattering. Specifically, shortening the spacer region between the superlattice and the channel from 3.5 nm to 0 nm improves the simulated S.S. from 51 mV/dec. to 40 mV/dec.

Coherent quantum transport features in carbon superlattice structures.

Whilst resonant transmission is well understood and can be fully harnessed for crystalline superlattices, a complete picture has not yet emerged for disordered superlattices. It has proven difficult to tune resonant transmission in disordered diamond-like carbon (DLC) superlattices as conventional models are not equipped to incorporate significant structural disorder. In this work, we present concurrent experimental and theoretical analysis which addresses resonant transmission in DLC superlattices. Devices were fabricated by growing alternate layers of DLC with different percentages of sp3 hybridized carbon.Coherent quantum transport effects were demonstrated in these structurally disordered DLC superlattices through distinct current modulation with negative differential resistance (NDR) in the current-voltage (I-V) measurements. A model was developed using tight-binding calculations assuming a random variation of the hopping integral to simulate structural (bond-length) disorder. Calculations of the I-V characteristics compliment the interpretation of the measurements and illustrate that while DLC superlattice structures are unlike their classical counterparts, the near-field structural order will help with the confinement of quantised states. The present model provides an empirical guide for tailoring the properties of future devices, giving rise to much hope that carbon electronics operating at high frequencies over large areas can now be developed.

Phase Space Framework for Coherence: Towards Quantum Computing System Design

This work aims to propose a framework for the phase space representation of quantum coherence in matter. The central thesis of this work is that quantum coherence could result from weak time-periodic forcing in the absence of other types of interactions (or measurements) from the environment. Therefore the Floquet formalism is employed to depict the coherent quantum system. A phase space representation for coherent quantum systems is formulated and the resulting three uncertainty principles are presented. The mathematical structure for quantum coherent transport is constructed via a non-equilibrium thermodynamic approach. The framework presented in this paper is targeted towards the development of nanosystems and other elements; employed to design systems for quantum computing.

High spin-filter efficiency and Seebeck effect through spin-crossover iron-benzene complex.

Electronic structures and coherent quantum transport properties are explored for spin-crossover molecule iron-benzene Fe(Bz)2 using density functional theory combined with non-equilibrium Green's function. High- and low-spin states are investigated for two different lead-molecule junctions. It is found that the asymmetrical T-shaped contact junction in the high-spin state behaves as an efficient spin filter while it has a smaller conductivity than that in the low-spin state. Large spin Seebeck effect is also observed in asymmetrical T-shaped junction. Spin-polarized properties are absent in the symmetrical H-shaped junction. These findings strongly suggest that both the electronic and contact configurations play significant roles in molecular devices and metal-benzene complexes are promising materials for spintronics and thermo-spintronics.

Quantum transport in coupled resonators enclosed synthetic magnetic flux

Quantum transport properties are instrumental to understanding quantum coherent transport processes. Potential applications of quantum transport are widespread, in areas ranging from quantum information science to quantum engineering, and not restricted to quantum state transfer, control and manipulation. Here, we study light transport in a ring array of coupled resonators enclosed synthetic magnetic flux. The ring configuration, with an arbitrary number of resonators embedded, forms a two-arm Aharonov–Bohm interferometer. The influence of magnetic flux on light transport is investigated. Tuning the magnetic flux can lead to resonant transmission, while half-integer magnetic flux quantum leads to completely destructive interference and transmission zeros in an interferometer with two equal arms.

Experimental control of transport resonances in a coherent quantum rocking ratchet.

The ratchet phenomenon is a means to get directed transport without net forces. Originally conceived to rectify stochastic motion and describe operational principles of biological motors, the ratchet effect can be used to achieve controllable coherent quantum transport. This transport is an ingredient of several perspective quantum devices including atomic chips. Here we examine coherent transport of ultra-cold atoms in a rocking quantum ratchet. This is realized by loading a rubidium atomic Bose–Einstein condensate into a periodic optical potential subjected to a biharmonic temporal drive. The achieved long-time coherence allows us to resolve resonance enhancement of the atom transport induced by avoided crossings in the Floquet spectrum of the system. By tuning the strength of the temporal modulations, we observe a bifurcation of a single resonance into a doublet. Our measurements reveal the role of interactions among Floquet eigenstates for quantum ratchet transport.

Study on tunneling magnetoresistance effects in parabolic well magnetic tunneling junction with double barriers

In this paper, we construct a ferromagnet/semiconductor/ferromagnet parabolic well magnetic tunneling junction with double barriers as research object by inserting another semiconductor as a barrier between ferromagnetic and semiconductor potential wells. On the basis of the quantum coherent transport theory and transfer matrix method, we investigate the spin polarized electron transport and the tunnel magnetic resistance (TMR) in parabolic well magnetic tunneling junction with double barriers. We derive the analytical expressions of transmission probability, tunnel magnetic resistance and spin polarization from the new magnetic tunneling junction mode. The significant quantum size, Rashba spin orbit interaction, the angle effect and the thickness of the double barriers layer are discussed simultaneously. The results indicate that the tunnel magnetic resistance shows periodic variation as the width of the parabolic-well at different angles. The TMR is monotonically decreasing when the angle varying from 0 to up, which reflects the structure of the spin valve effect. Meanwhile, results also show that the spin polarization and the tunnel magnetic resistance oscillate with the same period for different barriers thickness. The phase difference appears after inserting the barriers. With increasing the barriers width, phase difference becomes large. The amplitude and peak to alley ratio of the spin polarization and the tunnel magnetic resistance are increase with the barrier width increases. Furthermore, the spin polarization make quasiperiodic oscillation that the oscillation amplitudes become large, the period and peak to alley ratio are decrease as the Rashba spin-orbit coupling strength increases. It appears the spin flip phenomenon as increasing the thickness of the barriers. The TMR shows the typical properties of resonant tunneling with the increasing of the spin orbit coupling strength. In order to better reveal the role of the symmetry double tunnel barriers in the parabolic well structure, we calculate TMR against the thickness of the double barriers. It is found that the existence of the double tunnel barriers increase the TMR and the spin polarization significantly, which shows that the large TMR value can be obtained with the suitable layer thickness of the double barriers layer and the Rashba spin-orbital coupling coefficients. These characteristics are helpful to promote the development and application of new magnetic tunnel junctions.

Bloch oscillations in non-Hermitian lattices with trajectories in the complex plane

Bloch oscillations (BOs), i.e. the oscillatory motion of a quantum particle in a periodic potential, are one of the most striking effects of coherent quantum transport in the matter. In the semiclassical picture, it is well known that BOs can be explained owing to the periodic band structure of the crystal and the so-called 'acceleration' theorem: since in the momentum space the particle wave packet drifts with a constant speed without being distorted, in real space the probability distribution of the particle undergoes a periodic motion following a trajectory which exactly reproduces the shape of the lattice band. In non-Hermitian lattices with a complex (i.e. not real) energy band, extension of the semiclassical model is not intuitive. Here we show that the acceleration theorem holds for non-Hermitian lattices with a complex energy band only {\it on average}, and that the periodic wave packet motion of the particle in the real space is described by a trajectory in {\it complex} plane, i.e. it generally corresponds to reshaping and breathing of the wave packet in addition to a transverse oscillatory motion. The concept of BOs involving complex trajectories is exemplified by considering two examples of non-Hermitian lattices with a complex band dispersion relation, including the Hatano-Nelson tight-binding Hamiltonian describing the hopping motion of a quantum particle on a linear lattice with an imaginary vector potential and a tight-binding lattice with imaginary hopping rates.

Enhanced energy transport in genetically engineered excitonic networks.

One of the challenges for achieving efficient exciton transport in solar energy conversion systems is precise structural control of the light-harvesting building blocks. Here, we create a tunable material consisting of a connected chromophore network on an ordered biological virus template. Using genetic engineering, we establish a link between the inter-chromophoric distances and emerging transport properties. The combination of spectroscopy measurements and dynamic modelling enables us to elucidate quantum coherent and classical incoherent energy transport at room temperature. Through genetic modifications, we obtain a significant enhancement of exciton diffusion length of about 68% in an intermediate quantum-classical regime.

Publisher's Note: Direct imaging of coherent quantum transport in graphenep−n−pjunctions [Phys. Rev. B92, 125414 (2015)

Received 15 September 2015DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.92.119905©2015 American Physical Society

Direct imaging of coherent quantum transport in graphenep−n−pjunctions

We fabricate a graphene p-n-p heterojunction and exploit the coherence of weakly-confined Dirac quasiparticles to resolve the underlying scattering potential using low temperature scanning gate microscopy. The tip-induced perturbation to the heterojunction modifies the condition for resonant scattering, enabling us to detect localized Fabry-Perot cavities from the focal point of halos in scanning gate images. In addition to halos over the bulk we also observe ones spatially registered to the physical edge of the graphene. Guided by quantum transport simulations we attribute these to modified resonant scattering at the edges within elongated cavities that form due to focusing of the electrostatic field.

Directed tunneling of a prescribed number of dipolar bosons in shaken triple-well potentials

We propose a scheme for precise control of the tunneling dynamics of dipolar bosons in shaken triple-well potentials. In high-frequency regimes and under resonance conditions, we have analytically and numerically demonstrated that we can transport an a priori prescribed number of dipolar bosons along different pathways and in different directions by adjusting the driving parameters. These results extend the previous many-body selective coherent destruction of tunneling schemes for nondipolar bosons in double-well potentials (Gong et al 2009 Phys. Rev. Lett. 103 133002; Longhi 2012 Phys. Rev. A 86 044102), thus offering an efficient way to design long-range coherent quantum transportation.

Coherent quantum transport in disordered systems: A unified polaron treatment of hopping and band-like transport.

Quantum transport in disordered systems is studied using a polaron-based master equation. The polaron approach is capable of bridging the results from the coherent band-like transport regime governed by the Redfield equation to incoherent hopping transport in the classical regime. A non-monotonic dependence of the diffusion coefficient is observed both as a function of temperature and system-phonon coupling strength. In the band-like transport regime, the diffusion coefficient is shown to be linearly proportional to the system-phonon coupling strength and vanishes at zero coupling due to Anderson localization. In the opposite classical hopping regime, we correctly recover the dynamics described by the Fermi's Golden Rule and establish that the scaling of the diffusion coefficient depends on the phonon bath relaxation time. In both the hopping and band-like transport regimes, it is demonstrated that at low temperature, the zero-point fluctuations of the bath lead to non-zero transport rates and hence a finite diffusion constant. Application to rubrene and other organic semiconductor materials shows a good agreement with experimental mobility data.

Assistance of molecular vibrations on coherent energy transfer in photosynthesis from the view of a quantum heat engine.

Recently, the quantum nature in the energy transport in solar cells and light-harvesting complexes has attracted much attention as being triggered by the experimental observations. We model the light-harvesting complex (i.e., PEB50 dimer) as a quantum heat engine (QHE) and study the effect of the undamped intramolecule vibrational modes on the coherent energy-transfer process and quantum transport. We find that the exciton-vibration interaction has nontrivial contribution to the promotion of quantum yield as well as transport properties of the QHE at steady state by enhancing the quantum coherence quantified by entanglement entropy. The perfect quantum yield over 90% has been obtained, with the exciton-vibration coupling. We attribute these improvements to the renormalization of the electronic couplings effectively induced by exciton-vibration interaction and the subsequent delocalization of excitons. Finally, we demonstrate that the thermal relaxation and dephasing can help the excitation energy transfer in the PEB50 dimer.