Comptes Rendus
Thermoelectric mesoscopic phenomena / Phénomènes thermoélectriques mésoscopiques
Experiments on the thermoelectric properties of quantum dots
[Expériences sur les propriétés thermoélectriques des boîtes quantiques]
Comptes Rendus. Physique, Volume 17 (2016) no. 10, pp. 1096-1108.

Les boîtes quantiques (BQ) sont de bons systèmes pour mener des études fondamentales sur les phénomènes mésoscopiques de transport thermoélectrique, du fait de leurs petites tailles, de leurs propriétés réglables électrostatiquement et de leurs réponses thermoélectriques, qui sont très sensibles à de petits gradients thermiques. Nous passons en revue ici des études expérimentales des propriétés thermoélectriques de BQ individuelles crées dans des gaz d'électrons bidimensionnels, des nanotubes de carbone mono-feuillet et des nanofils semi-conducteurs. Une condition cruciale pour de telles expériences est de disposer de méthodes pour imposer des gradients thermiques aux échelles nanométriques. Nous rappelons brièvement les techniques principales utilisées dans ce but – chauffage Joule des contacts de la boîte, chauffage sur les côtés et par le dessus –, et nous en discutons les avantages respectifs. La réponse thermoélectrique d'une BQ en fonction d'un potentiel de grille présente des oscillations de période identique à celle observée pour les pics de conductance. Une grande part de la litterature insiste sur l'accord entre l'expérience et la théorie, notamment en ce qui concerne l'amplitude et la largeur des pics du thermovoltage Vth. Une observation générale est que l'approximation largement utilisée de l'effet tunnel à un électron décrit avec un succès limité la mesure de Vth. Les calculs à la Landauer s'avèrent souvent mieux décrire les mesures, en dépit des grandes interactions électron–électron à l'œuvre dans ces BQ. Plus récemment, les effets thermoélectriques non linéaires ont attiré l'attention, et nous présentons un bref résumé des expériences menées à bien à ce jour. Nous concluons par une discussion des questions ouvertes et des perspectives pour des travaux futurs, incluant les rôle des asymétries dans les couplages à effet tunnel et capacitifs pour le comportement thermoélectrique des BQ.

Quantum dots (QDs) are good model systems for fundamental studies of mesoscopic transport phenomena using thermoelectric effects because of their small size, electrostatically tunable properties and thermoelectric response characteristics that are very sensitive to small thermal biases. Here we provide a review of experimental studies on thermoelectric properties of single QDs realized in two-dimensional electron gases, single-walled carbon nanotubes and semiconductor nanowires. A key requirement for such experiments is to have some methods for nanoscale thermal biasing at one's disposal. We briefly review the main techniques used in the field, namely, heating of the QD contacts, side heating and top heating, and touch upon their relative advantages. The thermoelectric response of a QD as a function of gate potential has a characteristic oscillatory behavior with the same period as is observed for conductance peaks. Much of the existing literature focuses on the agreement between experiments and theory, particularly for amplitude and line-shape of the thermovoltage Vth. A general observation is that the widely used single-electron tunneling approximation for QDs has limited success in reproducing measured Vth. Landauer-type calculations are often found to describe measurement results better, despite the large electron–electron interactions in QDs. More recently, nonlinear thermoelectric effects have moved into the focus of attention, and we offer a brief overview of the experiments done so far. We conclude by discussing open questions and avenues for future work, including the role of asymmetries in tunnel- and capacitive couplings in the thermoelectric behavior of QDs.

Publié le :
DOI : 10.1016/j.crhy.2016.08.002
Mots clés : Quantum dot, Thermopower, Thermoelectric, Nanoscale, Thermal bias
Artis Svilans 1 ; Martin Leijnse 1 ; Heiner Linke 1

1 NanoLund and Solid State Physics, Lund University, Box 118, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
@article{CRPHYS_2016__17_10_1096_0,
     author = {Artis Svilans and Martin Leijnse and Heiner Linke},
     title = {Experiments on the thermoelectric properties of quantum dots},
     journal = {Comptes Rendus. Physique},
     pages = {1096--1108},
     publisher = {Elsevier},
     volume = {17},
     number = {10},
     year = {2016},
     doi = {10.1016/j.crhy.2016.08.002},
     language = {en},
}
TY  - JOUR
AU  - Artis Svilans
AU  - Martin Leijnse
AU  - Heiner Linke
TI  - Experiments on the thermoelectric properties of quantum dots
JO  - Comptes Rendus. Physique
PY  - 2016
SP  - 1096
EP  - 1108
VL  - 17
IS  - 10
PB  - Elsevier
DO  - 10.1016/j.crhy.2016.08.002
LA  - en
ID  - CRPHYS_2016__17_10_1096_0
ER  - 
%0 Journal Article
%A Artis Svilans
%A Martin Leijnse
%A Heiner Linke
%T Experiments on the thermoelectric properties of quantum dots
%J Comptes Rendus. Physique
%D 2016
%P 1096-1108
%V 17
%N 10
%I Elsevier
%R 10.1016/j.crhy.2016.08.002
%G en
%F CRPHYS_2016__17_10_1096_0
Artis Svilans; Martin Leijnse; Heiner Linke. Experiments on the thermoelectric properties of quantum dots. Comptes Rendus. Physique, Volume 17 (2016) no. 10, pp. 1096-1108. doi : 10.1016/j.crhy.2016.08.002. https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/physique/articles/10.1016/j.crhy.2016.08.002/

[1] L.P. Kouwenhoven et al. Electron transport in quantum dots (L.L. Sohn; L.P. Kouwenhoven; G. Schön, eds.), Mesoscopic Electron Transport, Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute Series E, vol. 345, 1997, p. 105

[2] K.K. Likharev Single-electron devices and their applications, Proc. IEEE, Volume 87 (1999), p. 4

[3] D.M. Rowe Thermoelectrics Handbook: Macro to Nano, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA, 2006

[4] C.W.J. Beenakker; A.A.M. Staring Theory of the thermopower of a quantum dot, Phys. Rev. B, Volume 46 (1992), p. 9667

[5] A.S. Dzurak et al. Thermoelectric signature of the excitation spectrum of a quantum dot, Phys. Rev. B, Volume 75 (1997)

[6] R. Scheibner et al. Sequential and cotunneling behavior in the temperature-dependent thermopower of few-electron quantum dots, Phys. Rev. B, Volume 75 (2007)

[7] G.D. Mahan; J.O. Sofo The best thermoelectric, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Volume 93 (1996), p. 7436

[8] B. Kubala; J. König; J. Pekola Violation of the Wiedemann–Franz law in a single-electron transistor, Phys. Rev. Lett., Volume 100 (2008)

[9] T.E. Humphrey et al. Reversible quantum Brownian heat engines for electrons, Phys. Rev. Lett., Volume 89 (2002)

[10] N. Nakpathomkun; H.Q. Xu; H. Linke Thermoelectric efficiency at maximum power in low-dimensional systems, Phys. Rev. B, Volume 82 (2010)

[11] H. Thierschmann et al. Thermoelectrics with Coulomb coupled quantum dots, C. R. Physique, Volume 17 (2016) | DOI

[12] A.A.M. Staring et al. Coulomb-blockade oscillations in the thermopower of a quantum dot, Europhys. Lett., Volume 22 (1993), p. 57

[13] A.S. Dzurak et al. Observation of Coulomb blockade oscillations in the thermopower of a quantum dot, Solid State Commun., Volume 87 (1993), p. 1145

[14] C.C. Escott; F.A. Zwanenburg; A. Morello Resonant tunneling features in quantum dots, Nanotechnology, Volume 21 (2010), p. 274018

[15] C.W.J. Beenakker Theory of Coulomb-blockade oscillations in the conductance of a quantum dot, Phys. Rev. B, Volume 44 (1991), p. 1646

[16] L.P. Kouwenhoven et al. Single electron charging effects in semiconductor quantum dots, Z. Phys. B, Condens. Matter, Volume 85 (1991), p. 367

[17] M.A. Reed et al. Observation of discrete electronic states in a zero-dimensional semiconductor nanostructure, Phys. Rev. Lett., Volume 60 (1988), p. 535

[18] L.P. Kouwenhoven; D.G. Austing; S. Tarucha Few-electron quantum dots, Rep. Prog. Phys., Volume 64 (2001), p. 701

[19] E. Bonet; M.M. Deshmukh; D.C. Ralph Solving rate equations for electron tunneling via discrete quantum states, Phys. Rev. B, Volume 65 (2002)

[20] L. Pfeiffer et al. Electron mobilities exceeding 107 cm2/Vs in modulation-doped GaAs, Appl. Phys. Lett., Volume 55 (1989), p. 1888

[21] H.A. Nilsson et al. InSb nanowire field-effect transistors and quantum-dot devices, IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron., Volume 17 (2011), p. 907

[22] M. Freitag et al. Controlled creation of a carbon nanotube diode by a scanned gate, Appl. Phys. Lett., Volume 79 (2001), p. 3326

[23] M.T. Björk et al. One-dimensional steeplechase for electrons realized, Nano Lett., Volume 2 (2002), p. 87

[24] M.T. Björk et al. Few-electron quantum dots in nanowires, Nano Lett., Volume 4 (2004), p. 1621

[25] R. Scheibner et al. Thermopower of a Kondo spin-correlated quantum dot, Phys. Rev. Lett., Volume 95 (2005)

[26] J.P. Small; K.M. Perez; P. Kim Modulation of thermoelectric power of individual carbon nanotubes, Phys. Rev. Lett., Volume 91 (2003)

[27] M.J. Biercuk et al. Gate-defined quantum dots on carbon nanotubes, Nano Lett., Volume 5 (2005), p. 1267

[28] S. Roddaro et al. Spin states of holes in Ge/Si nanowire quantum dots, Phys. Rev. Lett., Volume 101 (2008)

[29] V.S. Pribiag et al. Electrical control of single hole spins in nanowire quantum dots, Nat. Nanotechnol., Volume 8 (2013), p. 170

[30] S. Sapmaz et al. Quantum dots in carbon nanotubes, Semicond. Sci. Technol., Volume 21 (2006)

[31] H.A. Nilsson et al. Giant, level-dependent g factors in InSb nanowire quantum dots, Nano Lett., Volume 9 (2009), p. 3151

[32] S. Fahlvik Svensson et al. Lineshape of the thermopower of quantum dots, New J. Phys., Volume 14 (2012)

[33] S. Fahlvik Svensson et al. Nonlinear thermovoltage and thermocurrent in quantum dots, New J. Phys., Volume 15 (2013)

[34] J.P. Small; P. Kim Thermopower measurements on individual single walled carbon nanotubes, Microscale Thermophys. Eng., Volume 8 (2004), p. 1

[35] M.C. Llaguno; J.E. Fischer; A.T. Johnson Observation of thermopower oscillations in the Coulomb blockade regime in a semiconducting carbon nanotube, Nano Lett., Volume 4 (2004), p. 45

[36] J.G. Gluschke et al. Fully tunable, non-invasive thermal biasing of gated nanostructures suitable for low-temperature studies, Nanotechnology, Volume 25 (2014), p. 385704

[37] A. Svilans et al. Nonlinear thermoelectric response due to energy-dependent transport properties of a quantum dot, Physica E, Volume 82 (2016), p. 34

[38] H. van Houten et al. Thermo-electric properties of quantum point contacts, Semicond. Sci. Technol., Volume 7 (1992)

[39] A.S. Dzurak et al. Thermopower measurements of semiconductor quantum dots, Physica B, Volume 281 (1998), p. 249

[40] T. Ando Theory of quantum transport in a two-dimensional electron system under magnetic fields. IV. Oscillatory conductivity, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn., Volume 37 (1974), p. 1233

[41] R. Fletcher et al. Hot-electron temperatures of two-dimensional electron gases using both de Haas–Shubnikov oscillations and the electron–electron interaction effect, Phys. Rev. B, Volume 45 (1992), p. 6659

[42] E.A. Hoffmann et al. Quantum dot thermometry, Appl. Phys. Lett., Volume 91 (2007), p. 252114

[43] E.A. Hoffmann et al. Measuring temperature gradients over nanometer length scales, Nano Lett., Volume 9 (2009), p. 779

[44] A.V. Feshchenko; J.V. Koski; J.P. Pekola Experimental realization of a Coulomb blockade refrigerator, Phys. Rev. B, Volume 90 (2014)

[45] J. Weis et al. Single-electron tunnelling transistor as a current rectifier with potential-controlled current polarity, Semicond. Sci. Technol., Volume 10 (1995), p. 877

[46] M. Turek; K.A. Matveev Cotunneling thermopower of single electron transistors, Phys. Rev. B, Volume 65 (2002)

[47] A.G. Pogosov et al. Coulomb blockade and the thermopower of a suspended quantum dot, JETP Lett., Volume 83 (2006), p. 122

[48] M.A. Sierra; D. Sanchez Strongly nonlinear thermovoltage and heat dissipation in interacting quantum dots, Phys. Rev. B, Volume 90 (2014)

[49] R. Scheibner, Ph.D. dissertation, Würzburg, Germany, 2007.

[50] H. Thierschmann, Ph.D. dissertation, Würzburg, Germany, 2014.

[51] R. Scheibner et al. Quantum dot as thermal rectifier, New J. Phys., Volume 10 (2008)

Cité par Sources :

Commentaires - Politique


Ces articles pourraient vous intéresser

Nonlinear phenomena in quantum thermoelectrics and heat

David Sánchez; Rosa López

C. R. Phys (2016)


Thermoelectric and electrical transport in mesoscopic two-dimensional electron gases

Vijay Narayan; Michael Pepper; David A. Ritchie

C. R. Phys (2016)