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arXiv · 2006.13854

Thermal origin of light emission in non-resonant and resonant tunnel junctions

Christian Ott·Stephan Götzinger·Heiko B. Weber
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Abstract

Electron tunneling is associated with light emission. In order to elucidate its generating mechanism, we provide a novel experimental ansatz that employs fixed-distance epitaxial graphene as metallic electrodes. In contrast to previous experiments, this permits an unobscured light spread from the tunnel junction, enabling both a reliable calibration of the visible to infrared emission spectrum and a detailed analysis of the dependence of the parameters involved. In an open, non-resonant geometry, the emitted light is perfectly characterized by a Planck spectrum. In an electromagnetically resonant environment, resonant radiation is added to the thermal spectrum, both being strictly proportional in intensity. In full agreement with a simple heat conduction model, we provide evidence that in both cases the light emission stems from a hot electronic subsystem in interaction with its linear electromagnetic environment. These very clear results should resolve any ambiguity about the mechanism of light emission in nano contacts.

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Christian Ott, Stephan Götzinger, Heiko B. Weber. 2020-06-24. Thermal origin of light emission in non-resonant and resonant tunnel junctions. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevresearch.2.042019

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