Nonlinear Electron Transport Research Articles

Effect of vacancies on spin transport characteristics of zigzag WS2 nanoribbon

We present the effect of atomic vacancies on the spin conductivity of tungstenite (WS2) nanoribbon. Analyzing band structures of selected structures revealed the metallic behavior which is a promising feature for nanoribbons of WS2. The nonlinear spin-dependent electronic transport properties in zigzag tungsten disulfide were studied systematically using density functional theory combined with non-equilibrium Green’s functions. Processing transmission spectra elucidates the effect of voltage and point vacancies on the charge transport of tungstenite nanoribbon. Element types and their positions, are found to be critical in determining the spin polarization of the current-voltage characteristics. In particular, it is found that negative differential resistance (NDR) is significantly affected by ribbon edges and geometrical symmetry of scattering region. This aligns with the results of recent studies and addresses the derived rectification behaviors.

Fast Detection of a Weak Signal by a Stochastic Resonance Induced by a Coherence Resonance in an Excitable GaAs/Al_{0.45}Ga_{0.55}As Superlattice.

The effect of a coherence resonance is observed experimentally in a GaAs/Al_{0.45}Ga_{0.55}As superlattice under dc bias at room temperature, which is driven by noise. For an applied voltage, for which no current self-oscillations are observed, regular current self-oscillations with a frequency of about 82MHz are induced by exceeding a certain noise amplitude. In addition, a novel kind of a stochastic resonance is identified, which is triggered by the coherence resonance. This stochastic resonance appears when the device is driven by an external ac signal with a frequency, which is relatively close to that of the regular current self-oscillations at the coherence resonance. The intrinsic oscillation mode in the coherence resonance is found to be phase locked by an extremely weak ac signal. It is demonstrated that an excitable superlattice device can be used for the fast detection of weak signals submerged in noise. These results are very well reproduced by results using numerical simulations based on a sequential resonant tunneling model of nonlinear electron transport in semiconductor superlattices.

Nonlinear electron transport across short DNA segment between graphene leads

The current-voltage curves of a double strand DNA nanowire connected to armchair graphene nanoribbon leads are investigated using the tight-binding Hamiltonian model and the Landauer-Büttiker formalism. The nonlinear behavior of the current-voltage for different lengths of the DNA nanowire is calculated and interpreted through the corresponding density of states and transmission probability. The behavior of the current-voltage changes as the temperature or width of the leads varies and is also affected by the randomization of parallel and perpendicular hopping terms in the DNA. Around zero bias of the leads, the current-voltage depends on the dimerization effects of parallel hopping in the device.

Nonlinear electron transport mobility in asymmetric wide quantum well structure

The nonlinearity of multisubband electron mobility µ in a GaAs/AlxGa1−xAs wide quantum well structure is studied by varying the well width w and doping concentration Ndb (Ndt) lying in the bottom (top) barrier. The electrons diffuse into the well and accumulate near the interfaces forming two sheets of coupled two dimensional electron gases equivalent to a double quantum well structure. We show that interchange of doping concentrations Ndb and Ndt lead to the enhancement of µ as a function of w as long as Ndt > Ndb, even though the surface electron density remains unaltered. Further, keeping Ndb unchanged, variation of Ndt leads to nonlinearity in µ near the resonance of subband states at Ndt = Ndb at which the subband energy levels exhibit anticrossing. The variation of µ becomes prominent by increasing the well width and resonant doping concentration. The nonlinearity in µ is mostly because of the change in the interface roughness scattering potential through intersubband effects due to the substantial changes in the distributions of the subband wave functions around resonance. Our results of nonmonotonic variation of µ can be utilized for low temperature coupled quantum well devices.

Competing Charge Density Waves Probed by Nonlinear Transport and Noise in the Second and Third Landau Levels.

Charge density waves (CDWs) in the second and third Landau levels (LLs) are investigated by both nonlinear electronic transport and noise. The use of a Corbino geometry ensures that only bulk properties are probed, with no contribution from edge states. Sliding transport of CDWs is revealed by narrow band noise in reentrant quantum Hall states R2a and R2c of the second LL, as well as in pinned CDWs of the third LL. Competition between various phases-stripe, pinned CDW, or fractional quantum Hall liquid-in both LLs are clearly revealed by combining noise data with maps of conductivity versus magnetic field and bias voltage.

Phosphatidylglycerol is implicated in divisome formation and metabolic processes of cyanobacteria

Phosphatidylglycerol is an essential phospholipid for photosynthesis and other cellular processes. We investigated the role of phosphatidylglycerol in cell division and metabolism in a phophatidylglycerol-auxotrophic strain of Synechococcus PCC7942. Here we show that phosphatidylglycerol is essential for the photosynthetic electron transfer and for the oligomerisation of the photosynthetic complexes, notably, we revealed that this lipid is important for non-linear electron transport. Furthermore, we demonstrate that phosphatidylglycerol starvation elevated the expressions of proteins of nitrogen and carbon metabolism. Moreover, we show that phosphatidylglycerol-deficient cells changed the morphology, became elongated, the FtsZ ring did not assemble correctly, and subsequently the division was hindered. However, supplementation with phosphatidylglycerol restored the ring-like structure at the mid-cell region and the normal cell size, demonstrating the phosphatidylglycerol is needed for normal septum formation. Taken together, central roles of phosphatidylglycerol were revealed; it is implicated in the photosynthetic activity, the metabolism and the fission of bacteria.

Laser-induced changes of nonlinear electronic transport properties in La0.75Ba0.25MnO3 and (La0.6Pr0.4)0.67Ca0.33MnO3

We report photoinduced effects in nonlinear third harmonic ac electric transport—which is a measure for the density of correlated polarons—in thin films of (LBMO) and (LPCMO) manganites. Both materials show an enhancement of third harmonic voltage in the vicinity of the metal-to-insulator transition, indicating strong electron-lattice correlations within a phase-separated state. Relatively low laser excitation with a pulse fluence of leads to an increase (decrease) in nonlinearity in LBMO (LPCMO). With a high pulse fluence of 8mJ cm−2, we were also able to suppress the correlations in LBMO, which is accompanied by a decrease of third harmonic voltage by in our time-averaging measurement technique.

The Nonlinear Electronic Transport in Multilayer Graphene on Silicon-on-Insulator Substrates**Supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China under Grant No 2016YFB0402404, the High-Tech Research and Development Program of China under Grant Nos 2013AA031401, 2015AA016902 and 2015AA016904, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos 61674136, 61176053, 61274069 and 61435002.

We conduct a study on the superlinear transport of multilayer graphene channels that partially or completely locate on silicon which is pre-etched by inductively coupled plasma (ICP). By fabricating a multilayer-graphene field-effect transistor on a Si/SiO substrate, we obtain that the superlinearity results from the interaction between the multilayer graphene sheet and the ICP-etched silicon. In addition, the observed superlinear transport of the device is found to be consistent with the prediction of Schwinger’s mechanism. In the high bias regime, the values of increase dramatically from 1.02 to 1.40. The strength of the electric field corresponding to the on-start of electron–hole pair production is calculated to be V/m. Our work provides an experimental observation of the nonlinear transport of the multilayer graphene.

Nonlinear electron transport in GaAs/InGaAs asymmetric double-quantum-well pseudomorphic high-electron-mobility transistor structure

We analyze the structural-asymmetry-induced nonlinear enhancement of the electron mobility μ in a GaAs/InxGa1−xAs double-quantum-well pseudomorphic high-electron-mobility transistor (p-HEMT). We consider the well widths wi and ws and the doping concentrations ndi and nds in the barriers along the substrate (inverted doping) and surface (surface doping), respectively. We show that for a suitable choice of ws and nds, the variation of wi leads to interesting changes in the occupation of subbands, i.e., first, single-subband, then double-subband, and again, single-subband occupancy. By increasing ndi, the range of double-subband occupancy is enhanced. However, the lowering of μ due to the inter-subband effects is minimized. In the case of a single-channel HEMT, i.e., say, for ndi = 0, only a single subband is occupied. The mobility exhibits a cusplike behavior with a minimum at a certain value of wi. If one takes a higher value of nds, the occupation of subbands shows a different trend, i.e., from single- to double-subband occupancy as a function of wi for different ndi values with nonmonotonic variations of μ. Our results of the nonlinear enhancement of mobility can be utilized for the analysis of the coupled GaAs/InxGa1−xAs double-quantum-well p-HEMT structure.

Nonlinear electronic transport and enhanced catalytic behavior caused by native oxides on Cu nanowires

Electrical transport properties of individual nanowires (both in axial and transversal directions) and their random networks suggest rapid oxidation when Cu is exposed to ambient conditions. The oxidation process is elucidated by thorough XRD, XPS and Raman analyzes conducted for a period of 30 days. Based on the obtained experimental data, we may conclude that first, cuprous oxide and copper hydroxide form that finally transform to cupric oxide. In electrical applications, oxidation of copper is not a true problem as long as thin films or bulk metal is concerned. However, as highlighted in our work, this is not the case for nanowires, since the oxidized surface plays quite important role in the contact formation and also in the conduction of percolated nanowire networks. On the other hand, by taking advantage of the mixed surface oxide states present on the nanowires along with their large specific surface area, we tested and found excellent catalytic activity of the oxidized nanowires in phenol oxidation, which suggests further applications of these materials in catalysis.

Maximum Entropy Closure of Balance Equations for Miniband Semiconductor Superlattices

Charge transport in nanosized electronic systems is described by semiclassical or quantum kinetic equations that are often costly to solve numerically and difficult to reduce systematically to macroscopic balance equations for densities, currents, temperatures and other moments of macroscopic variables. The maximum entropy principle can be used to close the system of equations for the moments but its accuracy or range of validity are not always clear. In this paper, we compare numerical solutions of balance equations for nonlinear electron transport in semiconductor superlattices. The equations have been obtained from Boltzmann–Poisson kinetic equations very far from equilibrium for strong fields, either by the maximum entropy principle or by a systematic Chapman–Enskog perturbation procedure. Both approaches produce the same current-voltage characteristic curve for uniform fields. When the superlattices are DC voltage biased in a region where there are stable time periodic solutions corresponding to recycling and motion of electric field pulses, the differences between the numerical solutions produced by numerically solving both types of balance equations are smaller than the expansion parameter used in the perturbation procedure. These results and possible new research venues are discussed.

Noise-induced resonance-like phenomena in InP crystals embedded in fluctuating electric fields

We explore and discuss the complex electron dynamics inside a low-doped n-type InP bulk embedded in a sub-THz electric field, fluctuating for the superimposition of an external source of Gaussian correlated noise. The results presented in this study derive from numerical simulations obtained by means of a multi-valley Monte Carlo approach to simulate the nonlinear transport of electrons inside the semiconductor crystal. The electronic noise characteristics are statistically investigated by calculating the correlation function of the velocity fluctuations, its spectral density and the integrated spectral density, i.e. the total noise power, for different values of both amplitude and frequency of the driving oscillating electric field and for different correlation times of the field fluctuations. Our results show that the nonlinear response of electrons is strongly affected by the field fluctuations. In particular, crucially depending on the relationship between the correlation times of the external Gaussian noise and the timescales of complex phenomena involved in the electron dynamical behavior: (i) electrons self-organize among different valleys, giving rise to intrinsic noise suppression; (ii) this cooperative behavior causes the appearance of a resonance-like phenomenon in the noise spectra.

Electronic transport through Al/InN nanowire/Al junctions

We report non-linear electronic transport measurement of Al/Si-doped n-type InN nanowire/Al junctions performed at T = 0.3 K, below the superconducting transition temperature of the Al electrodes. The proximity effect is observed in these devices through a strong dip in resistance at zero bias. In addition to the resistance dip at zero bias, several resistance peaks can be identified at bias voltages above the superconducting gap of the electrodes, while no resistance dip is observed at the superconducting gap. The resistance peaks disappear as the Al electrodes turn normal beyond the critical magnetic field except one which remains visible at fields several times higher than critical magnetic field. An unexpected non-monotonic magnetic field dependence of the peak position is observed. We discuss the physical origin of these observations and propose that the resistance peaks could be the McMillan-Rowell oscillations arising from different closed paths localized near different regions of the junctions.

High-contrast laser acceleration of relativistic electrons in solid cone-wire targets.

The consequences of small scale-length precursor plasmas on high-intensity laser-driven relativistic electrons are studied via experiments and simulations. Longer scale-length plasmas are shown to dramatically increase the efficiency of electron acceleration, yet, if too long, they reduce the coupling of these electrons into the solid target. Evidence for the existence of an optimal plasma scale-length is presented and estimated to be from 1 to 5μm. Experiments on the Trident laser (I=5×10(19)W/cm(2)) diagnosed via Kα emission from Cu wires attached to Au cones are quantitively reproduced using 2D particle-in-cell simulations that capture the full temporal and spatial scale of the nonlinear laser interaction and electron transport. The simulations indicate that 32%±8%(6.5%±2%) of the laser energy is coupled into electrons of all energies (1-3 MeV) reaching the inner cone tip and that, with an optimized scale-length, this could increase to 35% (9%).

Nonlinear Ballistic Transport in an Atomically Thin Material.

Ultrashort devices that incorporate atomically thin components have the potential to be the smallest electronics. Such extremely scaled atomically thin devices are expected to show ballistic nonlinear behavior that could make them tremendously useful for ultrafast applications. While nonlinear diffusive electron transport has been widely reported, clear evidence for intrinsic nonlinear ballistic transport in the growing array of atomically thin conductors has so far been elusive. Here we report nonlinear electron transport of an ultrashort single-layer graphene channel that shows quantitative agreement with intrinsic ballistic transport. This behavior is shown to be distinctly different than that observed in similarly prepared ultrashort devices consisting, instead, of bilayer graphene channels. These results suggest that the addition of only one extra layer of an atomically thin material can make a significant impact on the nonlinear ballistic behavior of ultrashort devices, which is possibly due to the very different chiral tunneling of their charge carriers. The fact that we observe the nonlinear ballistic response at room temperature, with zero applied magnetic field, in non-ultrahigh vacuum conditions and directly on a readily accessible oxide substrate makes the nanogap technology we utilize of great potential for achieving extremely scaled high-speed atomically thin devices.

Electron dynamical response in InP semiconductors driven by fluctuating electric fields

The complexity of electron dynamics in low-doped n-type InP crystals operating under fluctuating electric fields is deeply explored and discussed. In this study, we employ a multi-particle Monte Carlo approach to simulate the non-linear transport of electrons inside the semiconductor bulk. All possible scattering events of hot electrons in the medium, the main details of the band structure, as well as the heating effects, are taken into account. The results presented in this study derive from numerical simulations of the electron dynamical response to the application of a sub-Thz electric field, fluctuating for the superimposition of an external source of Gaussian correlated noise. The electronic noise features are statistically investigated by computing the correlation function of the velocity fluctuations, its spectral density and the variance, i.e. the total noise power, for different values of amplitude and frequency of the driving field. Our results show the presence of a cooperative non-linear behavior of electrons, whose dynamics is strongly affected by the field fluctuations. Moreover, the electrons self-organize among different valleys, giving rise to the reduction of the intrinsic noise. This counterintuitive effect critically depends on the relationship among the characteristic times of the external fluctuations and the temporal scales of complex phenomena involved in the electron dynamical response. In particular, the correlation time of the electric field fluctuations appears to be crucial both for the noise reduction effect and the appearance of an anomalous diffusion effect.

An electrohydrodynamics model for non-equilibrium electron and phonon transport in metal films after ultra-short pulse laser heating

The electrons and phonons in metal films after ultra-short pulse laser heating are in highly non-equilibrium states not only between the electrons and the phonons but also within the electrons. An electrohydrodynamics model consisting of the balance equations of electron density, energy density of electrons, and energy density of phonons is derived from the coupled non-equilibrium electron and phonon Boltzmann transport equations to study the nonlinear thermal transport by considering the electron density fluctuation and the transient electric current in metal films, after ultra-short pulse laser heating. The temperature evolution is calculated by the coupled electron and phonon Boltzmann transport equations, the electrohydrodynamics model derived in this work, and the two-temperature model. Different laser pulse durations, film thicknesses, and laser fluences are considered. We find that the two-temperature model overestimates the electron temperature at the front surface of the film and underestimates the damage threshold when the nonlinear thermal transport of electrons is important. The electrohydrodynamics model proposed in this work could be a more accurate prediction tool to study the non-equilibrium electron and phonon transport process than the two-temperature model and it is much easier to be solved than the Boltzmann transport equations.

Nonlinear transport of the Wigner crystal in symmetric and asymmetric FET-like structures

When floating on a two-dimensional surface of superfluid 4He, electrons arrange themselves in two-dimensional crystalline structure known as Wigner crystal. In channels, the boundaries interfere the crystalline order and in case of very narrow channels one observes a quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) Wigner crystal formed by just a few rows of electrons and, ultimately, one row in the “quantum wire” regime. Recently, the “quantum wire” regime was accessed experimentally [D.G. Rees, H. Totsuji, K. Kono, Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 176801 (2012)] resulting in unusual transport phenomena such as, e.g., oscillations in the electron conductance. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we study the nonlinear transport of electrons in channels with various types of constrictions: single and multiple symmetric and asymmetric geometrical constrictions with varying width and length, and saddle-point-type potentials with varying gate voltage. In particular, we analyze the average particle velocity of the particles and the corresponding electron current versus the driving force or the gate voltage. We have revealed a significant difference in the dynamics for long and short constrictions: The oscillations of the average velocity of the particles for the systems with short constrictions exhibit a clear correlation with the transitions between the states with different numbers of rows of particles; on the other hand, for the systems with longer constrictions these oscillations are suppressed. The obtained results qualitatively agree with the experimental observations. Next, we propose a FET-like structure that consists of a channel with asymmetric constrictions. We show that applying a transverse bias results either in increase of the average particle velocity or in its suppression thus allowing a flexible control tool over the electron transport. The advantage of the asymmetric FET is that it does not have a gate and it allows an easy control of relatively large electron flow. Furthermore, the asymmetric device can be used for rectification of an ac-driven electron flow. Our results bring important insights into the dynamics of electrons floating on the surface of superfluid 4He in channels with constrictions and allow the effective control over the electron transport.

Nonlinear electron transport in superlattice driven by a terahertz field and a tilted magnetic field

Vertical electron transport in semiconductor superlattice has been the focus of science and technology during the past two decades due to the potential application of superlattice in terahertz devices. When driven by electromagnetic field, many novel phenomena have been found in superlattice. Here we study the chaotic electron transport in miniband superlattice driven by dc+ac electric fields along the growth axis (z-axis) and a magnetic field tilted to z-axis using semiclassical equations of motion in the preflence of dissipation. We calculate the electron momentum by changing the magnetic field or amplitude of the terahertz field. It is shown that the momentum py(t) of miniband electron exhibits complicated oscillation modes while changing the control parameters. Poincaré bifurcation diagram and power spectrum are adopted to analyze the nonlinear electron states. Poincaré bifurcation diagram is obtained by plotting pym = py(mTac) (with m = 1, 2, 3,… and Tac the period of ac terahertz field) as functions of ac amplitude E1 after the transients decay. The periodic and aperiodic regions can be distinguished from each other since there are a large number of points in the chaotic regions. When the magnetic field is increased from 1.5 to 2 T, the Poincaré bifurcation diagram changes dramatically due to the strong effect of magnetic field on electron motion. The oscillating state of py(t) may be changed between periodic and chaotic syates. Power spectra of electron momentum py for different values of E1 (= 2.06, 2.18, 2.388, and 2.72) are calculated for a deep insight into the nonlinear oscillating mode. It is found that the power spectra of n-periodic states show peaks at frequencies ifac/n (with i = 1, 2, 3,…); the power spectra of chaotic states are very irregular with a large number of peaks. We demonstrate that the dissipation and resonance between Bloch oscillation frequency and cyclotron frequency play an important role in the electron transport process. We attribute the emerging of periodic and chaotic states in a superlattice to the interaction between terahertz radiation and internal cooperative oscillating mode related to Bloch oscillation and cyclotron oscillation. In the case of ωB≠iωc, the time-dependent electron motion is chaotic in most regions of the parameter space. Results of the preflent paper are useful for designing terahertz devices based on the semiconductor superlattices.

High-Frequency Electric Field Induced Nonlinear Electron Transport in Chiral Carbon Nanotubes

We investigate theoretically the high frequency complex conductivity in carbon nanotubes that are stimulated axially by a strong inhomogeneous electric field of the form E(t)=E0+E1cos(ωt). Using the kinetic approach based on Boltzmann’s transport equation with constant relaxation time approximation and the energy spectrum of the electron in the tight-binding approximation, together with Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook collision integral, we predict high-frequency nonlinear effects along the axial and the circumferential directions of the carbon nanotubes that may be useful for the generation of high frequency radiation in the carbon nanotubes.