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arXiv · cond-mat/9602103

Semiclassical theory of shot noise in mesoscopic conductors

Abstract

A semiclassical theory is developed for time-dependent current fluctuations in mesoscopic conductors. The theory is based on the Boltzmann-Langevin equation for a degenerate electron gas. The low-frequency shot-noise power is related to classical transmission probabilities at the Fermi level. For a disordered conductor with impurity scattering, it is shown how the shot noise crosses over from zero in the ballistic regime to one-third of the Poisson noise in the diffusive regime. In a conductor consisting of n tunnel barriers in series, the shot noise approaches one-third of the Poisson noise as n goes to infinity, independent of the transparency of the barriers. The analysis confirms that phase coherence is not required for the occurrence of the one-third suppression of the shot noise. The effects of electron heating and inelastic scattering are calculated, by inserting charge-conserving electron reservoirs between segments of the conductor.

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BibTeXRIS

M. J. M. de Jong, C. W. J. Beenakker. 1996-02-20. Semiclassical theory of shot noise in mesoscopic conductors. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-4371(96)00068-4

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