arXiv subjects

Jean-Pierre Leburton

Publications and source records attributed to Jean-Pierre Leburton.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2020

Broadband Transistor-Injected Dual Doping Quantum Cascade Laser

A novel design-friendly device called the transistor-injected dual doping quantum cascade laser (TI-D2QCL) with two different doping in each stack of a homogeneous superlattice is proposed. By adjusting the base-emitter bias Vbe of the bipolar transistor to supply electrons in the dual doping regions, charge quasi-neutrality can be achieved to generate different optical transitions in each cascading superlattice stack. These transitions are then stacked and amplified to contribute to a broad flat gain spectrum. Model calculations of a designed TI- D2QCL show that a broad flat gain spectrum ranging from 9.41um to 12.01um with a relative bandwidth of 0.24 can be obtained, indicating that the TI- D2QCL with dual doping pattern may open a new pathway to the appealing applications in both MIR and THz frequency ranges, from wideband optical generations to advanced frequency comb technologies.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2020

Microscopic Transport Analysis of Single Molecule Detection in MoS$_2$ Nanopore Membranes

A microscopic physical analysis of the various resistive effects involved in the electronic detection of single biomolecules in a nanopore of a MoS2 nanoribbon is presented. The analysis relies on a combined experimental-theoretical approach, where the variations of the transverse electronic current along the two-dimensional (2D) membrane due to the translocation of DNA and proteins molecules through the pore are compared with model calculations based on molecular dynamics (MD) and Boltzmann transport formalism for evaluating the membrane conductance. Our analysis that points to a self-consistent interaction among ions, charge carriers around the pore rim and biomolecules, emphasizes the effects of the electrolyte concentration, pore size, nanoribbon geometry, but also the doping polarity of the nanoribbon on the electrical sensitivity of the nanopore in detecting biomolecules, which agrees well with the experimental data.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Light Enhanced Blue Energy Generation using MoS$_2$ Nanopores

Blue energy relies on the chemical potential difference generated between solutions of high and low ionic strength and would provide a sun-and-wind independent energy source at estuaries around the world. Converting this osmotic energy through reverse-electrodialysis relies on ion-selective membranes. A novel generation of these membranes is based on atomically thin MoS$_2$ membranes to decrease the resistance to current flow to increase power output. By modulating the surface charge by light we are able to raise the ion selectivity of the membrane by a factor of 5 while staying at a neutral pH. Furthermore, we find that the behavior of small nanopores is dominated by surface conductance. We introduce a formalism based on the Dukhin number to quantify these effects in the case of a concentration gradient system. As a consequence, the charges created by light illumination provoke two important changes. Increased surface charge at the pore rim enhances the ion selectivity and therefore larger osmotic voltage (dominating in small pores), while the increased surface charge of the overall membrane enhances the surface conductance and therefore the osmotic current (dominating in larger pores). The combination of these effects might be able to efficiently boost the energy generation with arrays of nanopores with varying pore sizes.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2015

Tunable magnetic phases in quasi-one-dimensional systems

There has been considerable debate on the onset of exotic spin phenomena in quantum wires due to enhanced many-body effects caused by the one-dimensional (1D) alignment of charge carriers. We explain various observed spin effects, such as a carrier density-dependent spin-flip in dilute quasi-1D systems and the variability of the spin polarization in quantum point contacts, by using an unrestricted Hartree-Fock approach with a three-dimensional (3D) Coulomb interaction. The model dimensionality is critical in identifying a complex pattern of magnetic phases varying with confinement and magnetic field. In the limit of vanishing magnetic fields, we show the emergence of a degenerate excited state with opposite spin polarization above a confinement-dependent 1D concentration threshold, which is consistent with observations of a conductance plateau at half the conductance quantum $G_{0}/2=e^{2}/h$, even in the absence of spin-orbit interactions. Moreover, spin polarization disappears in highly-asymmetrically confined wires, and strictly two-dimensional systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Terahertz Harmonic Generation in Graphene

We show that charge carrier transport in graphene exhibit sharp resonances in the presence of spatially and temporarily modulated scattering. Resonances occur when the period of an applied a-c field corresponds to the time taken by quasi-ballistic carriers to drift over a spatial scattering period, provided the latter is shorter than the distance taken by carriers to emit an optic phonon. We show that such system can be achieved with interdigitated gates energized with an a-c bias on graphene layers. Gate separation and fields to achieve ballistic transport would result in resonances in the terahertz range, with the generation of higher harmonics characterized by large Q-factors, which are tunable with gate spacing.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Temperature Modulation of the Transmission Barrier in Quantum Point Contacts

We investigate near-equilibrium ballistic transport through a quantum point contact (QPC) along a GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction with a transfer matrix technique, as a function of temperature and the shape of the potential barrier in the QPC. Our analysis is based on a three-dimensional (3D) quantum-mechanical variational model within the Hartree-Fock approximation that takes into account the vertical depletion potential from ionized acceptors in GaAs and the gate-induced transverse confinement potential that reduce to an effective slowly-varying one-dimensional (1D) potential along the narrow constriction. The calculated zero-temperature transmission exhibits a shoulder ranging from 0.3 to 0.6 depending on the length of the QPC and the profile of the barrier potential. The effect is a consequence of the compressibility peak in the 1D electron gas and is enhanced for anti-ferromagnetic interaction among electrons in the QPC, but is smeared out once temperature is increased by a few tenths of a kelvin.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Bandwidth enhancement and optical performances of multiple quantum well transistor lasers

A detailed rate-equation-based model is developed to study carrier transport effects on optical and electrical characteristics of the Multiple Quantum Well Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor Laser in time-domain. Simulation results extracted using numerical techniques in small-signal regime predict significant enhancement in device optical bandwidth when multiple quantum wells are used. Cavity length and base width are also modified to optimize the optoelectronic performances of the device. An optical bandwidth of \approx 60GHz is achieved in the case of 5 quantum wells each of 70A widths and a cavity length of 200um.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2011

Circuit Modeling of Tunneling Real-Space Transfer Transistors: Toward Terahertz Frequency Operation

High frequency operation of tunneling real-space transfer transistor (TRSTT) in the negative differential resistance (NDR) regime is assessed by calculating the device common source unity current gain frequency (fT) range with a small signal equivalent circuit model including tunneling. Our circuit model is based on an In0.2Ga0.8As and delta-doped GaAs dual channel structure with various gate lengths. The calculated TRSTT fT agrees very well with experimental data, limiting factor being the resistance of the delta-doped GaAs layer. By optimizing the gate dimensions and channel materials, we find fT in the NDR region approaches terahertz range, which anticipates potential use of TRSTT as terahertz sources.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Soft Carrier Multiplications by Hot Electrons in Graphene

By using Boltzmann formalism, we show that carrier multiplication by impact ionization can take place at relatively low electric fields during electronic transport in graphene. Because of the absence of energy gap, this effect is not characterized by a field threshold unlike in conventional semiconductors, but is a quadratic function of the electric field. We also show that the resulting current is an increasing function of the electronic temperature, but decreases with increasing carrier concentration.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Modeling of the Output and Transfer Characteristics of Graphene Field-Effect Transistors

We obtain the output and transfer characteristics of graphene field-effect transistors by using the charge-control model for the current, based on the solution of the Boltzmann equation in the field-dependent relaxation time approximation. Closed expressions for the conductance, transconductance and saturation voltage are derived. We found good agreement with the experimental data of Meric et al. [Nature Nanotechnology 3, 684 (2008)] without assuming carrier density-dependent velocity saturation.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

High-field Carrier Velocity and Current Saturation in Graphene Field-Effect Transistors

We obtain the output characteristics of graphene field-effect transistors by using the charge-control model for the current, based on the solution of the Boltzmann equation in the field-dependent relaxation time approximation. Closed expressions for the conductance, transconductance and saturation voltage are derived. We found good agreement with the experimental data of Meric et al. [1], without assuming a carrier density-dependent velocity saturation.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

The Interplay between Curvature Effect and Atomic Vacancy Defects in the Electronic Properties of Semi-Metallic Carbon Nanotubes

We investigate the electronic properties of semi-metallic (12,0) carbon nanotubes in the presence of a variety of mono-, di- and hexa-vacancy defects, by using first principle DFT combined with non-equilibrium Green's function technique. We show that defect states related to the vacancies hybridize with the extended states of the nanotubes to modify the band edge, and change the energy gap, resulting from the curvature effect. As a consequence, the nanotube conductance is not a monotonic function of the defect size and geometry. Paradoxically, hexa-vacancy nanotubes have higher conductance than di-vacancy nanotubes, which is due to the presence of mid-gap states originating from the defect, thereby enhancing the conductance.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Carrier mean free path and temperature imbalance in mesoscopic wires

Non-coherent electronic transport in metallic nanowires exhibits different carrier temperatures for the non-equilibrium forward and backward populations in the presence of electric fields. Depending on the mean free path that characterizes inter-branch carrier backscattering transport regimes vary between the ballistic and diffusive limits. In particular, we show that the simultaneous measurements of the electrical characteristics and the carrier distribution function offer a direct way to extract the carrier mean free path even when it is comparable to the conductor length. Our model is in good agreement with the experimental work on copper nanowires by Pothier {\it et al.} [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 79}, 3490 (1997)] and provides an elegant interpretation of the inhomogeneous thermal broadening observed in the local carrier distribution function as well as its scaling with external bias.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Restricted Wiedemann-Franz law and vanishing thermoelectric power in one-dimensional conductors

In one-dimensional (1D) conductors with linear E-k dispersion (Dirac systems) intrabranch thermalization is favored by elastic electron-electron interaction in contrast to electron systems with a nonlinear (parabolic) dispersion. We show that under external electric fields or thermal gradients the carrier populations of different branches, treated as Fermi gases, have different temperatures as a consequence of self-consistent carrier-heat transport. Specifically, in the presence of elastic phonon scattering, the Wiedemann-Franz law is restricted to each branch with its specific temperature and is characterized by twice the Lorenz number. In addition thermoelectric power vanishes due to electron-hole symmetry, which is validated by experiment.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2005

Spin configurations in circular and rectangular vertical quantum dots in a magnetic field: Three-dimensional self-consistent simulation

The magnetic field dependence of the electronic properties of \textit{real} single vertical quantum dots in circular and rectangular mesas is investigated within a full three-dimensional multiscale self-consistent approach without any {\it á priori} assumptions about the shape and strength of the confinement potential. The calculated zero field electron addition energies are in good agreement with available experimental data for both mesa geometries. Charging diagrams in a magnetic field for number of electrons up to five are also computed. Consistent with the experimental data, we found that the charging curves for the rectangular mesa dot in a magnetic field are flatter and exhibit less features than for a circular mesa dot. Evolution of the singlet-triplet energy separation in the two electron system for both dot geometries in magnetic field was also investigated. In the limit of large field, beyond the singlet-triplet transition, the singlet-triplet energy difference continues to become more negative in a circular mesa dot without any saturation within the range of considered magnetic fields whilst it is predicted to asymptotically approach zero for the rectangular mesa dot. This different behavior is attributed to the symmetry "breaking" that occurs in the singlet wave-functions in the rectangular mesa dot but not in the circular one.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2002

Absence of correlation between built-in electric dipole moment and quantum Stark effect in InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots

We report significant deviations from the usual quadratic dependence of the ground state interband transition energy on applied electric fields in InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots. In particular, we show that conventional second-order perturbation theory fails to correctly describe the Stark shift for electric field below $F = 10$ kV/cm in high dots. Eight-band ${\bf k}\cdot{\bf p}$ calculations demonstrate this effect is predominantly due to the three-dimensional strain field distribution which for various dot shapes and stoichiometric compositions drastically affects the hole ground state. Our conclusions are supported by two independent experiments.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2001

Anomalous quantum confined Stark effects in stacked InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots

Vertically stacked and coupled InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots (SADs) are predicted to exhibit a strong non-parabolic dependence of the interband transition energy on the electric field, which is not encountered in single SAD structures nor in other types of quantum structures. Our study based on an eight-band strain-dependent ${\bf k}\cdot{\bf p}$ Hamiltonian indicates that this anomalous quantum confined Stark effect is caused by the three-dimensional strain field distribution which influences drastically the hole states in the stacked SAD structures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv1999

Two-dimensional limit of exchange-correlation energy functional approximations in density functional theory

We investigate the behavior of three-dimensional (3D) exchange-correlation energy functional approximations of density functional theory in anisotropic systems with two-dimensional (2D) character. Using two simple models, quasi-2D electron gas and two-electron quantum dot, we show a {\it fundamental limitation} of the local density approximation (LDA), and its semi-local extensions, generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and meta-GGA (MGGA), the most widely used forms of which are worse than the LDA in the strong 2D limit. The origin of these shortcomings is in the inability of the local (LDA) and semi-local (GGA/MGGA) approximations to describe systems with 2D character in which the nature of the exchange-correlation hole is very nonlocal. Nonlocal functionals provide an alternative approach, and explicitly the average density approximation (ADA) is shown to be remarkably accurate for the quasi-2D electron gas system. Our study is not only relevant for understanding of the functionals but also practical applications to semiconductor quantum structures and materials such as graphite and metal surfaces. We also comment on the implication of our findings to the practical device simulations based on the (semi-)local density functional method.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗