1 research outputs found
Adiabatic transport in nanostructures
A confined system of non-interacting electrons, subject to the combined
effect of a time-dependent potential and different external
chemical-potentials, is considered. The current flowing through such a system
is obtained for arbitrary strengths of the modulating potential, using the
adiabatic approximation in an iterative manner. A new formula is derived for
the charge pumped through an un-biased system (all external chemical potentials
are kept at the same value); It reproduces the Brouwer formula for a
two-terminal nanostructure. The formalism presented yields the effect of the
chemical potential bias on the pumped charge on one hand, and the modification
of the Landauer formula (which gives the current in response to a constant
chemical-potential difference) brought about by the modulating potential on the
other. Corrections to the adiabatic approximation are derived and discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure