Weng, Q C; Yang, L; An, Z H; Tzalenchuk, A; Lu, W; Komiyama, S (2021) Quasiadiabatic electron transport in room temperature nanoelectronic devices induced by hot-phonon bottleneck. Nature Communications, 12 (1). 4752

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Abstract

Since the invention of transistors, the flow of electrons has become controllable in solid-state electronics. The flow of energy, however, remains elusive, and energy is readily dissipated to lattice via electron-phonon interactions. Hence, minimizing the energy dissipation has long been sought by eliminating phonon-emission process. Here, we report a different scenario for facilitating energy transmission at room temperature that electrons exert diffusive but quasiadiabatic transport, free from substantial energy loss. Direct nanothermometric mapping of electrons and lattice in current-carrying GaAs/AlGaAs devices exhibit remarkable discrepancies, indicating unexpected thermal isolation between the two subsystems. This surprising effect arises from the overpopulated hot longitudinal-optical (LO) phonons generated through frequent emission by hot electrons, which induce equally frequent LO-phonon reabsorption (“hot-phonon bottleneck”) cancelling the net energy loss. Our work sheds light on energy manipulation in nanoelectronics and power-electronics and provides important hints to energy-harvesting in optoelectronics (such as hot-carrier solar-cells).

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	Nanoscience > Nano-Materials
Divisions:	Quantum Technologies
Identification number/DOI:	10.1038/s41467-021-25094-5
Last Modified:	11 Mar 2025 15:34
URI:	https://eprintspublications.npl.co.uk/id/eprint/9468