A review of quantum transport in field-effect transistors

Confinement in small structures has required quantum mechanics, which has been known for a great many years. This leads to quantum transport. The field-effect transistor has had no need to be described by quantum transport over most of the century for which it has existed. But, this has changed in the past few decades, as modern versions tend to be absolutely controlled by quantum confinement and the resulting modifications to the normal classical descriptions. In addition, correlation and confinement lead to a need for describing the transport by quantum methods as well. In this review, we describe the quantum effects and the method of treating by various approaches to quantum transport.

Recent advances in THz detectors based on semiconductor structures with quantum confinement: a review

Beginning from the 1990s, an ever-lasting interest in the THz spectroscopy and THz instruments has produced wide progress in the development of high-speed THz detectors. The constantly growing requirements aimed at the increase of spectral resolution, sensitivity, and acquisition rate of THz detectors have attracted much attention in this field till nowadays. In the present review, we summarize the most recent advances in the THz photodetectors based on semiconductor structures with quantum confinement of an electron gas. Their main advantages over existing detectors are fast response time, increased spectral resolution, and multicolor operation thanks to the variability of their designs and band structure engineering. These all allow using them in various important applications as single photon detection, THz heterodyne detection, continuous monitoring of toxic gases, THz free space communications, and radio astronomy, as well.

Nanocrystals of Metal Halide Perovskites and Their Analogues as Scintillators for X-ray detection

Scintillators are widely used for X-ray detection in various fields, such as medical diagnostics, industrial inspection and homeland security. Nanocrystals of metal halide perovskites and their analogues showed great advantages as X-ray scintillators due to their cheap manufacturing, fast decay time, and room temperature scintillation from quantum confinement effect. However, there are still many challenges unsolved for further industrialization. Herein, it is necessary to summarize the progress of scintillators based on nanocrystals of metal halide perovskites and their analogues. In first section, the scintillation mechanism and key parameters are outlined. Then, various nanocrystals of metal halide perovskites and their analogues used as scintillators are reviewed. Finally, the challenges and outlook are discussed. It is believed that nanocrystals of metal halide perovskites and their analogues are favorable for large-area and flexible X-ray detectors.

Mini Review: Quantum Confinement of Atomic and Molecular Clusters in Carbon Nanotubes

We overview our recent developments on a computational approach addressing quantum confinement of light atomic and molecular clusters (made of atomic helium and molecular hydrogen) in carbon nanotubes. We outline a multi-scale first-principles approach, based on density functional theory (DFT)-based symmetry-adapted perturbation theory, allowing an accurate characterization of the dispersion-dominated particle–nanotube interaction. Next, we describe a wave-function-based method, allowing rigorous fully coupled quantum calculations of the pseudo-nuclear bound states. The approach is illustrated by showing the transition from molecular aggregation to quasi-one-dimensional condensed matter systems of molecular deuterium and hydrogen as well as atomic 4He, as case studies. Finally, we present a perspective on future-oriented mixed approaches combining, e.g., orbital-free helium density functional theory (He-DFT), machine-learning parameterizations, with wave-function-based descriptions.

Study on chemical synthesis of SnSSe nanosheets and nanocrystals

Two kinds of raw material combination for the hot injection method were investigated for the chemical synthesis of SnSSe nanosheets and nanocrystals, which are low-toxic optoelectronic materials. When SnSe quantum dots were synthesized by mainly using oleic acid as Se precursor solvent, the quantum dots changed from spherical to cubic as the size increased. The growth condition dependence of the nanocrystal formation process was discussed. When SnSSe nanocrystals were synthesized by mainly using trioctylphosphine as Se precursor solvent, it was found that the nanocrystal shape changed from dot to rod or sheet by reducing the proportion of S. The bandgap energy did not simply depend on the composition ratio of S but was affected by the change in the nanocrystal shape depending on the quantum confinement effect.

Quantum Confinement of Chiral Charge Carriers in Ring Conductors

<p>We theoretically study the quantum confinement effects and transport prop- erties of quantum ring (QR) systems. In particular, we investigate QRs made out of the following materials: single-layer graphene (SLG), single- layer transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and narrow-gap semiconduc- tor quantum wells (SQWs). Via perturbation theory and assuming that the ring aspect ratio is small, the general subband dispersion relations of these hard-wall ring confined systems are determined. These dispersion results agree with and extend on previous works. We discover the necessity of including both a size-quantisation energy and an angular momentum dependent energy shift to the dispersion equation due to their sizeable impact on the conductance of the system. The topological properties of these QR systems is also investigated. We find that QR confinement of materials may destroy the topologically non-trivial properties of states. The topological phase can be recovered when the band structure is inverted and the confined material parameters satisfy certain critical widths and gap limits. An analytical expression of the conductance for QRs (with symmetrically- arranged leads), in the presence of the perpendicular magnetic field piercing the centre of the ring, is derived. We study the geometric (i.e. Berry) and dynamic phases of the system that arise from the interference of partial waves in the ring branches. We discover that the Berry phase is modified by a correction term that arises purely from the quantum confinement of the materials. This has generally not been taken into account by previous studies. The explicit analytical expressions of the phase correction term are derived and shown to be proportional to the angular momentum dependent energy shift, present in the dispersion relations, for lead injection energies close to the subband energy. Overall, this study finds that the material-dependent phase plays a significant role in both the dispersion relation and the conductance of QRs and thus provides a useful insight for future experimental efforts with regards to transport in QR systems.</p>

Quantum Confinement of Chiral Charge Carriers in Ring Conductors

<p>We theoretically study the quantum confinement effects and transport prop- erties of quantum ring (QR) systems. In particular, we investigate QRs made out of the following materials: single-layer graphene (SLG), single- layer transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and narrow-gap semiconduc- tor quantum wells (SQWs). Via perturbation theory and assuming that the ring aspect ratio is small, the general subband dispersion relations of these hard-wall ring confined systems are determined. These dispersion results agree with and extend on previous works. We discover the necessity of including both a size-quantisation energy and an angular momentum dependent energy shift to the dispersion equation due to their sizeable impact on the conductance of the system. The topological properties of these QR systems is also investigated. We find that QR confinement of materials may destroy the topologically non-trivial properties of states. The topological phase can be recovered when the band structure is inverted and the confined material parameters satisfy certain critical widths and gap limits. An analytical expression of the conductance for QRs (with symmetrically- arranged leads), in the presence of the perpendicular magnetic field piercing the centre of the ring, is derived. We study the geometric (i.e. Berry) and dynamic phases of the system that arise from the interference of partial waves in the ring branches. We discover that the Berry phase is modified by a correction term that arises purely from the quantum confinement of the materials. This has generally not been taken into account by previous studies. The explicit analytical expressions of the phase correction term are derived and shown to be proportional to the angular momentum dependent energy shift, present in the dispersion relations, for lead injection energies close to the subband energy. Overall, this study finds that the material-dependent phase plays a significant role in both the dispersion relation and the conductance of QRs and thus provides a useful insight for future experimental efforts with regards to transport in QR systems.</p>