Signatures of Quantum Transport Through Two-Dimensional Structures With Correlated and Anti-Correlated Interfaces

TL;DR

This study investigates quantum transport in 2D nanostructures with correlated and anti-correlated surfaces, revealing how surface morphology and material parameters influence transmission properties and aligning with experimental data.

Contribution

It provides new insights into how surface correlations and material masses affect quantum transport in 2D channels, supported by Green function calculations.

Findings

Correlated surfaces produce wider pseudo-bands than anti-correlated surfaces.

Smaller transport mass increases transmittivity and pseudo-band width.

Enhanced threshold energy observed, matching experimental data for Si devices.

Abstract

Electronic transport through a 2D deca-nanometer length channel with correlated and anti-correlated surfaces morphologies is studied using the Keldysh non-equilibrium Green function technique. Due to the pseudo-periodicity of these structures, the energy-resolved transmission possesses pseudo-bands and pseudo-gaps. Channels with correlated surfaces exhibit wider pseudo-bands than their anti-correlated counterparts. By surveying channels with various combinations of material parameters, we found that a smaller transport mass increases the channel transmittivity and energy bandwidth of the pseudo-bands. A larger quantization mass yields a larger transmittivity in channels with anti-correlated surfaces. For channels with correlated surfaces, the dependence of transmittivity on quantization mass is complicated by odd-to-even mode transitions. An enhanced threshold energy in the energy-resolved transmission can also be observed in the presence of surface roughness. The computed enhanced threshold energy was able to achieve agreement with the experimental data for Si[110] and Si[100] devices.