Generalized Wigner Function Formulation for Quantum Systems with Open Boundaries

Remo Proietti Zaccaria; Fausto Rossi

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arXiv · cond-mat/0204637

Generalized Wigner Function Formulation for Quantum Systems with Open Boundaries

Remo Proietti Zaccaria·Fausto Rossi

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Abstract

A rigorous microscopic theory for the description of quantum-transport phenomena in systems with open boundaries is proposed. We shall show that the application of the conventional Wigner-function formalism to this problem leads to unphysical results, like injection of coherent electronic states from the contacts. To overcome such basic limitation, we propose a generalization of the standard Wigner-function formulation, able to properly describe the incoherent nature of carrier injection at the device spatial boundaries as well as the interplay between phase coherence and energy relaxation/dephasing within the device active region. The proposed theoretical scheme constitutes the first rigorous derivation of the phenomenological injection model commonly employed in the simulation of open quantum devices.

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Remo Proietti Zaccaria, Fausto Rossi. 2002-04-30. Generalized Wigner Function Formulation for Quantum Systems with Open Boundaries. https://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0204637

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