2006/10/31 by Miguel Rey, Michael Strass, Sigmund Kohler +2 · 2 citations
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Quantum and electron transport phenomena #Thermal Radiation and Cooling Technologies #cond-mat.mes-hall
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.76.085337
published as Phys. Rev. B 76, 085337 (2007) · 4 pages, 3 figures; published version, typos corrected
openalex publication_date 2007/08/24 · arxiv created 2007/09/06 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
We investigate a mechanism for extracting heat from metallic conductors based on the energy-selective transmission of electrons through a spatially asymmetric resonant structure subject to ac driving. This quantum refrigerator can operate at zero net electronic current as it replaces hot with cold electrons through two energetically symmetric inelastic channels. We present numerical results for a specific heterostructure and discuss general trends. We also explore the conditions under which the cooling rate may approach the ultimate limit given by the quantum of cooling power.