Tunneling Probability Research Articles

Intricate Conformational Tunneling in Carbonic Acid Monomethyl Ester.

Disentangling internal and external effects is a key requirement for understanding conformational tunneling processes. Here we report the s- trans/ s- cis tunneling rotamerization of carbonic acid monomethyl ester (1) under matrix isolation conditions and make comparisons to its parent carbonic acid (3). The observed tunneling rate of 1 is temperature-independent in the 3-20 K range and accelerates when using argon instead of neon as the matrix material. The methyl group increases the effective half life (τeff) of the energetically disfavored s- trans-conformer from 3-5 h for 3 to 11-13 h for 1. Methyl group deuteration slows the rotamerization further (τeff ≈ 35 h). CCSD(T)/cc-pVQZ//MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ computations of the tunneling probability suggest that the rate should be almost unaffected by methyl substitution or its deuteration. Thus the observed relative rates are puzzling, and they disagree with previous explanations involving fast vibrational relaxation after the tunneling event facilitated by the alkyl rotor.

Enhancement of capacitance benefit by drain offset structure in tunnel field-effect transistor circuit speed associated with tunneling probability increase

The effect of a drain offset structure on the operation speed of a tunnel field-effect transistor (TFET) ring oscillator is investigated by technology computer-aided design (TCAD) simulation. We demonstrate that the reduction of gate–drain capacitance by the drain offset structure dramatically increases the operation speed of the ring oscillators. Interestingly, we find that this capacitance benefit to operation speed is enhanced by the increase in band-to-band tunneling probability. The “synergistic” speed enhancement by the drain offset structure and the tunneling rate increase will have promising application to the significant improvement of the operation speed of TFET circuits.

Analysis of Flat-Band-Voltage Dependent Breakdown Voltage for 10 nm Double Gate MOSFET

The existing modeling of avalanche dominated breakdown in double gate MOSFETs (DGMOSFETs) is not relevant for 10 nm gate lengths, because the avalanche mechanism does not occur when the channel length approaches the carrier scattering length. This paper focuses on the punch through mechanism to analyze the breakdown characteristics in 10 nm DGMOSFETs. The analysis is based on an analytical model for the thermionic-emission and tunneling currents, which is based on two-dimensional distributions of the electric potential, obtained from the Poisson equation, and the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) approximation for the tunneling probability. The analysis shows that corresponding flat-band-voltage for fixed threshold voltage has a significant impact on the breakdown voltage. To investigate ambiguousness of number of dopants in channel, we compared breakdown voltages of high doping and undoped DGMOSFET and show undoped DGMOSFET is more realistic due to simple flat-band-voltage shift. Given that the flat-band-voltage is a process dependent parameter, the new model can be used to quantify the impact of process-parameter fluctuations on the breakdown voltage.

Tunnel injection transistor laser for optical interconnects

Transistor laser (TL) is already an established potential candidate for high speed optical interconnects and present day optical communication networks. This paper investigates theoretically the possibility of having lower base threshold current density and enhanced modulation bandwidth by inserting a tunnel injection structure in a TL having multiple quantum wells (MQW) in the base of the heterojunction bipolar transistor. Transfer of injected charge carriers from bulk to low dimensional nano-structure is assumed to occur via virtual energy states, which contributes to the terminal current. Small signal modulation response is obtained by solving the Statz–De Mars laser rate equations. The optimum threshold base current, confinement of carrier, light power outputs etc. are estimated for three QWs positioned at distances of 39, 59, and 79 nm from the emitter-base junction across the base. Incorporation of tunneling structure substantially lowers the base threshold current and increases the modulation bandwidth as compared to usual MQW transistor laser structure. The changes are more prominent with increasing tunneling probability.

Leggett-Garg Inequality for a Two-Level System under Decoherence

We consider a macroscopic quantum system subjected to an asymmetric double-well potential in a harmonic environment. By using a time-dependent approach, we calculate tunnelling probabilities for the system which contain oscillation effects. To show how one can decide between quantum mechanics and the implications of macrorealism assumptions, a given form of Leggett-Garg inequality is considered. The violation of this inequality occurs for a broader range of the system-environment interactions, compared to previous results obtained for two-level systems. Assuming that the coupling strength between the system and the environment can be controlled with time, one can see the violation even for strong decoherence effects. We also investigate the variation of the tilt/tunnelling parameters on the violation of Leggett-Garg inequality.

Capacitorless one-transistor dynamic random-access memory based on asymmetric double-gate Ge/GaAs-heterojunction tunneling field-effect transistor with n-doped boosting layer and drain-underlap structure

In this work, we present a capacitorless one-transistor dynamic random-access memory (1T-DRAM) based on an asymmetric double-gate Ge/GaAs-heterojunction tunneling field-effect transistor (TFET) for DRAM applications. The n-doped boosting layer and gate2 drain-underlap structure is employed in the device to obtain an excellent 1T-DRAM performance. The n-doped layer inserted between the source and channel regions improves the sensing margin because of a high rate of increase in the band-to-band tunneling (BTBT) probability. Furthermore, because the gate2 drain-underlap structure reduces the recombination rate that occurs between the gate2 and drain regions, a device with a gate2 drain-underlap length (LG2_D-underlap) of 10 nm exhibited a longer retention performance. As a result, by applying the n-doped layer and gate2 drain-underlap structure, the proposed device exhibited not only a high sensing margin of 1.11 µA/µm but also a long retention time of greater than 100 ms at a temperature of 358 K (85 °C).

Comparison of the Magnetic Anisotropy and Spin Relaxation Phenomenon of Dinuclear Terbium(III) Phthalocyaninato Single-Molecule Magnets Using the Geometric Spin Arrangement.

Herein we report the synthesis and characterization of a dinuclear TbIII single-molecule magnet (SMM) with two [TbPc2]0 units connected via a fused-phthalocyaninato ligand. The stable and robust complex [(obPc)Tb(Fused-Pc)Tb(obPc)] (1) was characterized by using synchrotron radiation measurements and other spectroscopic techniques (ESI-MS, FT-IR, UV). The magnetic couplings between the TbIII ions and the two π radicals present in 1 were explored by means of density functional theory (DFT). Direct and alternating current magnetic susceptibility measurements were conducted on magnetically diluted and nondiluted samples of 1, indicating this compound to be an SMM with improved properties compared to those of the well-known [TbPc2]-/0/+ and the axially symmetric dinuclear TbIII phthalocyaninato triple-decker complex (Tb2(obPc)3). Assuming that the probability of quantum tunneling of the magnetization (QTM) occurring in one TbPc2 unit is PQTM, the probability of QTM simultaneously occurring in 1 is PQTM2, meaning that QTM is effectively suppressed. Furthermore, nondiluted samples of 1 underwent slow magnetic relaxation times (τ ≈ 1000 s at 0.1 K), and the blocking temperature (TB) was determined to be ca. 16 K with an energy barrier for spin reversal (Ueff) of 588 cm-1 (847 K) due to D4d geometry and weak inter- and intramolecular magnetic interactions as an exchange bias (Hbias), reducing QTM. Four hyperfine steps were observed by micro-SQUID measurement. Furthermore, solution NMR measurements (one-dimensional, two-dimensional, and dynamic) were done on 1, which led to the determination of the high rotation barrier (83 ± 10 kJ/mol) of the obPc ligand. A comparison with previously reported TbIII triple-decker compounds shows that ambient temperature NMR measurements can indicate improvements in the design of coordination environments for SMMs. A large Ueff causes strong uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in 1, leading to a χax value (1.39 × 10-30 m3) that is larger than that for Tb2(obPc)3 (0.86 × 10-30 m3). Controlling the coordination environment and spin arrangement is an effective technique for suppressing QTM in TbPc2-based SMMs.

Increasing the proton conductivity of sulfonated polyether ether ketone by incorporating graphene oxide: Morphology effect on proton dynamics

We synthesized graphene oxide–sulfonated polyether ether ketone (GO–SPEEK) composite membrane and compare its proton conductivity with that of Nafion® 117 and SPEEK membranes. From experimental measurements, we found that GO–SPEEK has better proton conductivity (σGO–SPEEK = 3.8 × 10−2 S cm−1) when compared to Nafion® 117 (σNafion = 2.4 × 10−2 S cm−1) and SPEEK (σSPEEK = 2.9 × 10−3 S cm−1). From density functional theory (DFT-) based total energy calculations, we found that GO–SPEEK has the shortest proton diffusion distance among the three membranes, yielding the highest tunneling probability. Hence, GO–SPEEK exhibits the highest conductivity. The short proton diffusion distance in GO–SPEEK, as compared to Nafion® 117 and SPEEK, can be attributed to the presence of oxygenated functional groups of GO in the polymer matrix. This also explains why GO–SPEEK requires the lowest hydration level to reach its maximum conductivity. Moreover, we have successfully shown that the proton conductivity σ is related to the tunneling probability T, i.e., σ = σ′ exp(−1/T). We conclude that the proton diffusion distance and hydration level are the two most significant factors that determine the membrane’s good conductivity. The distance between ionic sites of the membrane should be small to obtain good conductivity. With this short distance, lower hydration level is required. Thus, a membrane with short separation between the ionic sites can have enhanced conductivity, even at low hydration conditions.

Probing Charge Transport through Peptide Bonds.

We measure the conductance of unmodified peptides at the single-molecule level using the scanning tunneling microscope-based break-junction method, utilizing the N-terminal amine group and the C-terminal carboxyl group as gold metal-binding linkers. Our conductance measurements of oligoglycine and oligoalanine backbones do not rely on peptide side-chain linkers. We compare our results with alkanes terminated asymmetrically with an amine group on one end and a carboxyl group on the other to show that peptide bonds decrease the conductance of an otherwise saturated carbon chain. Using a newly developed first-principles approach, we attribute the decrease in conductance to charge localization at the peptide bond, which reduces the energy of the frontier orbitals relative to the Fermi energy and the electronic coupling to the leads, lowering the tunneling probability. Crucially, this manifests as an increase in conductance decay of peptide backbones with increasing length when compared with alkanes.

Engineering drag currents in Coulomb coupled quantum dots

The Coulomb drag phenomenon in a Coulomb-coupled double quantum dot system is revisited with a simple model that highlights the importance of simultaneous tunneling of electrons. Previously, cotunneling effects on the drag current in mesoscopic setups have been reported both theoretically and experimentally. However, in both cases the sequential tunneling contribution to the drag current was always present unless the drag level position were too far away from resonance. Here, we consider the case of very large Coulomb interaction between the dots, whereby the drag current needs to be assisted by cotunneling events. As a consequence, a quantum coherent drag effect takes place. Further, we demonstrate that by properly engineering the tunneling probabilities using band tailoring it is possible to control the sign of the drag and drive currents, allowing them to flow in parallel or antiparallel directions. We also show that the drag current can be manipulated by varying the drag gate potential and is thus governed by electron- or hole-like transport.

Effect of temperature on electrical characteristics of single electron transistor

Static and transfer characteristics of single electron transistor are analytically calculated as a function of operating temperature under suitable biasing conditions. Computation is carried out assuming quantum mechanical coupling between source and drain; along with stochastic nature of tunneling process. Fermi Golden Rule is used to calculate free energy changes at both source and drain ends, and corresponding tunneling probabilities, which are governing factor for determining drain current. Result shows that significant variation is observed at lower temperature operation in terms of drain current and differential conductance. It is found out that at low horizontal bias, transfer characteristics is greatly influenced at lower temperature, whereas moderate gate voltage is required to observe meaningful fluctuations in static characteristics. Magnitudes of differential conductance and transconductance increase at higher temperature. Results have critical importance for operation of the device at different temperature conditions.

Возрастание мощности колебаний тока в полупроводниковой сверхрешетке с учетом межминизонного туннелирования

AbstractThe total power of oscillations of current flowing through a semiconductor superlattice with different gaps between the first and second minibands is discussed. It is demonstrated that, with a decrease in the band gap, i.e., with an increase in the probability of interminiband tunneling, the total current-oscillation power increases when certain voltages are applied to the superlattice.

Dependences of the Tunnel Magnetoresistance and Spin Transfer Torque on the Sizes and Concentration of Nanoparticles in Magnetic Tunnel Junctions

Dependences of the tunnel magnetoresistance and in-plane component of the spin transfer torque on the applied voltage in a magnetic tunnel junction have been calculated in the approximation of ballistic transport of conduction electrons through an insulating layer with embedded magnetic or nonmagnetic nanoparticles. A single-barrier magnetic tunnel junction with a nanoparticle embedded in an insulator forms a double-barrier magnetic tunnel junction. It has been shown that the in-plane component of the spin transfer torque in the double-barrier magnetic tunnel junction can be higher than that in the single-barrier one at the same thickness of the insulating layer. The calculations show that nanoparticles embedded in the tunnel junction increase the probability of tunneling of electrons, create resonance conditions, and ensure the quantization of the conductance in contrast to the tunnel junction without nanoparticles. The calculated dependences of the tunnel magnetoresistance correspond to experimental data demonstrating peak anomalies and suppression of the maximum magnetoresistances at low voltages.

Novel antimonene tunneling field-effect transistors using an abrupt transition from semiconductor to metal in monolayer and multilayer antimonene heterostructures.

Recently, a mono-elemental two-dimensional (2-D) material, namely antimonene, with a large band gap, decent mobility and ambient stability has been extensively researched. Interestingly, although antimonene is a semiconductor with a sizable band gap in the monolayer, it is transformed to a metal in the multilayer. Inspired by this thickness dependent semiconductor to metal transition, we propose novel antimonene tunneling field-effect transistors (TFETs) based on the lateral monolayer (semiconducting)/multilayer (metallic)/monolayer (semiconducting) heterostructure. Our antimonene TFETs consist of a semiconducting monolayer source, channel and a drain and a small metallic multilayer region between the source and the channel. The local multilayer region introduces gapless metallic states which dramatically enhance the tunneling probability and hence result in a large current. To investigate the effect of a metallic multilayer on device performances, we carried out ab-initio electronic structure and quantum transport calculations for several antimonene TFETs based on different monolayer/multilayer/monolayer heterostructures. Simulation shows that even ∼1 nm scale nanostructured multilayer significantly boosts the current and enables abrupt device switching. More extensive evaluation is performed through benchmarking with phosphorene TFETs which have been identified as the best 2-D material based TFETs so far. In terms of the main figures of merit for FETs such as the intrinsic delay time and the power delay product, antimonene heterostructure TFETs outperform phosphorene TFETs, primarily due to the elimination of the tunneling barrier by the locally constructed multilayer antimonene.

Controlled modification of resonant tunneling in metal-insulator-insulator-metal structures

We present comprehensive experimental and theoretical work on tunnel-barrier rectifiers comprising bilayer (Nb2O5/Al2O3) insulator configurations with similar (Nb/Nb) and dissimilar (Nb/Ag) metal electrodes. The electron affinity, valence band offset, and metal work function were ascertained by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry, and electrical measurements on fabricated reference structures. The experimental band line-up parameters were fed into a theoretical model to predict available bound states in the Nb2O5/Al2O3 quantum well and generate tunneling probability and transmittance curves under applied bias. The onset of strong resonance in the sub-V regime was found to be controlled by a work function difference of Nb/Ag electrodes in agreement with the experimental band alignment and theoretical model. A superior low-bias asymmetry of 35 at 0.1 V and a responsivity of 5 A/W at 0.25 V were observed for the Nb/4 nm Nb2O5/1 nm Al2O3/Ag structure, sufficient to achieve a rectification of over 90% of the input alternate current terahertz signal in a rectenna device.

QCD-induced electroweak phase transition

Phase transitions associated with nearly conformal dynamics are known to lead to significant supercooling. A notorious example is the phase transition in Randall-Sundrum models or their CFT duals. In fact, it was found that the phase transition in this case is first-order and the tunneling probability for the radion/dilaton is so small that the system typically remains trapped in the false vacuum and the phase transition never completes. The universe then keeps expanding and cooling. Eventually the temperature drops below the QCD scale. We show that the QCD condensates which subsequently form give an additional contribution to the radion/dilaton potential, an effect which had been ignored so far. This significantly reduces the barrier in the potential and allows the phase transition to complete in a substantially larger region of parameter space. Due to the supercooling, electroweak symmetry is then broken simultaneously. This class of models therefore naturally leads to an electroweak phase transition taking place at or below QCD temperatures, with interesting cosmological implications and signatures.

Application of CTLM method combining interfacial structure characterization to investigate contact formation of silver paste metallization on crystalline silicon solar cells

Circular transmission line model (CTLM) measurements were applied to study the contact formation mechanism of the silver paste metallization on n-type emitter of crystalline silicon solar cells. The electrical performance parameters ρc,Rsk, and Lt, which are related to the physical and chemical states of the multiphase materials at the interface, were extracted from the CTLM measurements, and were found to be sensitive to sintering temperature. As the temperature increased from 585 °C to 780 °C, initially the ρc value decreased rapidly, then flattened out and increased slightly. The order of resistivity magnitude was restricted by the SiNx passivation layer in the early sintering stages, and relied on the carrier tunneling probability affected by the precipitated silver crystallites or colloids, emitter doping concentration and molten glass layer. Based on the calculations that the sheet resistance underneath the electrode was reduced form 110 Ω/□ to 0.186 Ω/□, it could be inferred that there was formation of a highly conductive layer of silver crystallites and colloids contained glass on the emitter. The transfer length Lt exhibited a U-shaped variation along with the temperature, reflecting the variation of the interfacial electrical properties. Overall, this article shows that the CTLM method can become a new powerful tool for researchers to meet the challenges of silver paste metallization innovation for manufacturing high-efficiency silicon solar cells.

Time-dependent reliability method for service life prediction of reinforced concrete shield metro tunnels

Ageing and deterioration of underground tunnels is inevitable after their long-time in service. This necessitates a rigorous assessment of the probability of failure due to deterioration with a view to predicting remaining safe life. In the light of considerable research undertaken on prediction of service life of the aboveground structures, e.g. bridges, few such studies dealing with the underground structures, e.g. tunnels, have been carried out. The intention of this paper is to present a time-dependent reliability method to assess the tunnel probability failure due to different mechanisms of deterioration. Stochastic models are developed for four common failure modes of tunnel structures as identified by strength and serviceability criteria. Application of the proposed methodology is demonstrated in a case study. It is found in the paper that the reinforcement corrosion is a key factor that affects the probability of deterioration failure and that all deterioration scenarios need to be considered in the assessment of tunnel failures and prediction of their remaining safe life. The proposed method can help the asset managers and practitioners in developing rehabilitation or replacement strategy for existing tunnels with a view for better management of the valuable tunnel asset.

Orientation Engineering for Improved Performance of a Ge-Si Heterojunction Nanowire TFET

We have theoretically investigated the crystal orientation effects on the direct band-to-band tunneling probability, and the performance of a 5-nm diameter Ge n-channel nanowire tunnel field-effect transistor (FET). Bulk Ge has indirect band gap, and therefore, its application in tunnel FET is not promising. We study the complex band structures of Ge nanowires in different orientations and showthat the (011) Ge nanowire can be a potential candidate for tunneling FET (TFET). The (001) and (111) nanowires exhibit indirect gaps of 1.07 and 0.966 eV, respectively. In the (001) nanowire, the two X valleys project to the 1-D zone edge and form the conduction band minima. The other X valleys project to the zone center at 0.14 eV above the conduction band minimum. The L[111] and L[ $\overline {{1}}\overline {{1}}\overline {{1}}$ ] valleys project to the zone edge and form conduction band minima in the (111) nanowire. On the other hand, the (011) wire has a direct gap of 0.94 eV due to the projection of L[ $1\overline {{1}}1$ ], L[ $1\overline {{1}}\overline {{1}}$ ], L[ $\overline {{1}} 1\overline {{1}}$ ], and L[ $\overline {{1}}11$ ] valleys to the zone center. Among the three orientations, the (011) wire has the smallest area of the imaginary wave vector that directly connects the band edges at zone center. That is, the (011) wire has the highest direct band-to-band tunneling probability, and therefore, it is a potential candidate for TFETs. We simulate a (011)Ge-(011)Si heterojunction cylindrical nanowire TFET. The staggered band alignment at the heterointerface removes the ambipolar characteristics. The smallest action integral of the (011)Ge wire combined with the shorter tunnel path at the heterointerface results in high drive current for both ${V}_{\text {DD}} = {0.6}$ and 0.4 V. However, the turn-ON behavior with ${V}_{\text {DD}} = {0.4}$ V is superior, which suggests that the proposed nanowire TFET is suitable for low power applications.

Phase transition in compact stars: nucleation mechanism and γ-ray bursts revisited

We have revisited the nucleation process based on the Lifshitz-Kagan theory, which is the underlying mechanism of conversion of a pulsar constituted of hadronic matter to a quark star. We have selected appropriate models that have been tested against experimental and observational constraints to restrict the model arbitrariness present in previous investigations. The phase transition pressures and chemical potentials have been identified and afterwards, the tunneling probabilities and the nucleation time were computed. The critical pressures for which the half life of the metastable hadronic phase is one year were obtained. Even with the restrictions imposed to the selection of models, the results remained model dependent, but we found that the tunneling that makes possible the appearance of stable matter requires an overpressure that is practically independent of the quark matter bag constant. Finally, we have confirmed that the nucleation process can be one of the causes of gamma-ray bursts.