2007/04/30 by V. S. Khrapai, Stefan Ludwig, S. Ludwig +4 · 2 citations
Computer Science · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advancements in Semiconductor Devices and Circuit Design #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Quantum and electron transport phenomena #cond-mat.mes-hall
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.99.096803
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 096803 (2007) · as published
openalex publication_date 2007/08/31 · arxiv created 2007/09/03 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We study the interaction between two adjacent but electrically isolated quantum point contacts (QPCs). At high enough source-drain bias on one QPC, the drive QPC, we detect a finite electric current in the second, unbiased, detector QPC. The current generated at the detector QPC always flows in the opposite direction than the current of the drive QPC. The generated current is maximal, if the detector QPC is tuned to a transition region between its quantized conductance plateaus and the drive QPC is almost pinched-off. We interpret this counterflow phenomenon in terms of an asymmetric phonon-induced excitation of electrons in the leads of the detector QPC.