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Quantum Point Contact
A quantum point contact (QPC) is a narrow constriction between two wide electrically conducting regions, of a width comparable to the electronic wavelength (nano- to micrometer). The importance of QPC lies in the fact that they prove quantisation of ballistic conductance in mesoscopic systems. The conductance of a QPC is quantized in units of 2e^2/h, the so-called conductance quantum. Quantum point contacts were first reported in 1988 by a Dutch team from Delft University of Technology and Philips Research and, independently, by a British team from the Cavendish Laboratory. They are based on earlier work by the British group which showed how split gates could be used to convert a two-dimensional electron gas into one-dimension, first in silicon and then in gallium arsenide. This quantisation is reminiscent of the quantisation of the Hall conductance, but is measured in the absence of a magnetic field. The zero-field conductance quantisation and the smooth transition to the quantu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scanning Tunneling Microscope
A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is a type of scanning probe microscope used for imaging surfaces at the atomic level. Its development in 1981 earned its inventors, Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer, then at IBM Zürich, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986. STM senses the surface by using an extremely sharp conducting tip that can distinguish features smaller than 0.1 nm with a 0.01 nm (10 pm) depth resolution. This means that individual atoms can routinely be imaged and manipulated. Most scanning tunneling microscopes are built for use in ultra-high vacuum at temperatures approaching absolute zero, but variants exist for studies in air, water and other environments, and for temperatures over 1000 °C. STM is based on the concept of quantum tunneling. When the tip is brought very near to the surface to be examined, a bias voltage applied between the two allows electrons to tunnel through the vacuum separating them. The resulting ''tunneling current'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fermi Level
The Fermi level of a solid-state body is the thermodynamic work required to add one electron to the body. It is a thermodynamic quantity usually denoted by ''μ'' or ''E''F for brevity. The Fermi level does not include the work required to remove the electron from wherever it came from. A precise understanding of the Fermi level—how it relates to electronic band structure in determining electronic properties; how it relates to the voltage and flow of charge in an electronic circuit—is essential to an understanding of solid-state physics. In band structure theory, used in solid state physics to analyze the energy levels in a solid, the Fermi level can be considered to be a hypothetical energy level of an electron, such that at thermodynamic equilibrium this energy level would have a ''50% probability of being occupied at any given time''. The position of the Fermi level in relation to the band energy levels is a crucial factor in determining electrical properties. The Fer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fermi–Dirac Statistics
Fermi–Dirac statistics is a type of quantum statistics that applies to the physics of a system consisting of many non-interacting, identical particles that obey the Pauli exclusion principle. A result is the Fermi–Dirac distribution of particles over energy states. It is named after Enrico Fermi and Paul Dirac, each of whom derived the distribution independently in 1926. Fermi–Dirac statistics is a part of the field of statistical mechanics and uses the principles of quantum mechanics. Fermi–Dirac statistics applies to identical and indistinguishable particles with half-integer spin (1/2, 3/2, etc.), called fermions, in thermodynamic equilibrium. For the case of negligible interaction between particles, the system can be described in terms of single-particle energy states. A result is the Fermi–Dirac distribution of particles over these states where no two particles can occupy the same state, which has a considerable effect on the properties of the system. Fermi� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Planck Constant
The Planck constant, or Planck's constant, denoted by h, is a fundamental physical constant of foundational importance in quantum mechanics: a photon's energy is equal to its frequency multiplied by the Planck constant, and the wavelength of a matter wave equals the Planck constant divided by the associated particle momentum. The constant was postulated by Max Planck in 1900 as a proportionality constant needed to explain experimental black-body radiation. Planck later referred to the constant as the "quantum of Action (physics), action". In 1905, Albert Einstein associated the "quantum" or minimal element of the energy to the electromagnetic wave itself. Max Planck received the 1918 Nobel Prize in Physics "in recognition of the services he rendered to the advancement of Physics by his discovery of energy quanta". In metrology, the Planck constant is used, together with other constants, to define the kilogram, the SI unit of mass. The SI units are defined in such a way that, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electron Charge
C, or c, is the third letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''. History "C" comes from the same letter as "G". The Semites named it gimel. The sign is possibly adapted from an Egyptian hieroglyph for a staff sling, which may have been the meaning of the name ''gimel''. Another possibility is that it depicted a camel, the Semitic name for which was ''gamal''. Barry B. Powell, a specialist in the history of writing, states "It is hard to imagine how gimel = "camel" can be derived from the picture of a camel (it may show his hump, or his head and neck!)". In the Etruscan language, plosive consonants had no contrastive voicing, so the Greek ' Γ' (Gamma) was adopted into the Etruscan alphabet to represent . Already in the Western Greek alphabet, Gamma first took a '' form in Early Etruscan, then '' in Classical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waveguide
A waveguide is a structure that guides waves by restricting the transmission of energy to one direction. Common types of waveguides include acoustic waveguides which direct sound, optical waveguides which direct light, and radio-frequency waveguides which direct electromagnetic waves other than light like radio waves. Without the physical constraint of a waveguide, waves would expand into three-dimensional space and their intensities would decrease according to the inverse square law. There are different types of waveguides for different types of waves. The original and most common meaning is a hollow conductive metal pipe used to carry high frequency radio waves, particularly microwaves. Dielectric waveguides are used at higher radio frequencies, and transparent dielectric waveguides and optical fibers serve as waveguides for light. In acoustics, air ducts and horns are used as waveguides for sound in musical instruments and loudspeakers, and specially-shaped metal rod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fermi Energy
The Fermi energy is a concept in quantum mechanics usually referring to the energy difference between the highest and lowest occupied single-particle states in a quantum system of non-interacting fermions at absolute zero temperature. In a Fermi gas, the lowest occupied state is taken to have zero kinetic energy, whereas in a metal, the lowest occupied state is typically taken to mean the bottom of the conduction band. The term "Fermi energy" is often used to refer to a different yet closely related concept, the Fermi ''level'' (also called electrochemical potential).The use of the term "Fermi energy" as synonymous with Fermi level (a.k.a. electrochemical potential) is widespread in semiconductor physics. For example:''Electronics (fundamentals And Applications)''by D. Chattopadhyay''Semiconductor Physics and Applications''by Balkanski and Wallis. There are a few key differences between the Fermi level and Fermi energy, at least as they are used in this article: * The Fermi ener ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landauer Formula
In mesoscopic physics, the Landauer formula—named after Rolf Landauer, who first suggested its prototype in 1957—is a formula relating the electrical resistance of a quantum conductor to the scattering properties of the conductor. It is the equivalent of Ohm's law for mesoscopic circuits with spatial dimensions in the order of or smaller than the phase coherence length of charge carriers (electrons and holes). In metals, the phase coherence length is of the order of the micrometre for temperatures less than . Description In the simplest case where the system only has two terminals, and the scattering matrix of the conductor does not depend on energy, the formula reads : G(\mu) = G_0 \sum_n T_n (\mu) \ , where G is the electrical conductance, G_0 = e^2/(\pi\hbar) \approx 7.75\times 10^ \Omega^ is the conductance quantum, T_n are the transmission eigenvalues of the channels, and the sum runs over all transport channels in the conductor. This formula is very simple and physica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Net Current
NET may refer to: Broadcast media United States * National Educational Television, the predecessor of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States * National Empowerment Television, a politically conservative cable TV network, now defunct, also known as "America's Voice" * Nebraska Educational Telecommunications, a state network of Television (PBS) and Radio Stations (NPR) in Nebraska, United States * New Evangelization Television, a Christian-oriented TV channel based in New York, United States Elsewhere * NET (telecommunications), a Brazilian cable television operator * MDTV (Indonesian TV network), an Indonesian television network formerly known as NET * NET (Maltese TV channel), a Maltese television station * NET 5, a Dutch television station * Net 25, a Philippine television station * New Hellenic Television, a Greek television network, currently known as ERT2 * Nihon Educational Television, former name of TV Asahi Science and technology * Noise-eq ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ohm's Law
Ohm's law states that the electric current through a Electrical conductor, conductor between two Node (circuits), points is directly Proportionality (mathematics), proportional to the voltage across the two points. Introducing the constant of proportionality, the Electrical resistance, resistance, one arrives at the three mathematical equations used to describe this relationship: V = IR \quad \text\quad I = \frac \quad \text\quad R = \frac where is the current through the conductor, ''V'' is the voltage measured across the conductor and ''R'' is the electrical resistance, resistance of the conductor. More specifically, Ohm's law states that the ''R'' in this relation is constant, independent of the current. If the resistance is not constant, the previous equation cannot be called ''Ohm's law'', but it can still be used as a definition of Electrical resistance and conductance#Static and differential resistance, static/DC resistance. Ohm's law is an empirical law, empirical rel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
