Dielectric environment mediated quantum screening of one dimensional electron gas

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the dielectric environment influences quantum screening in one-dimensional electron gases within nanowires, revealing environment-dependent screening effects and collective excitations.

Contribution

It introduces a model that accounts for dielectric environment effects on the screening function of 1D nanowires, extending previous assumptions of a homogeneous background.

Findings

High-k dielectric environments reduce carrier screening.

Low dielectric environments enhance Coulomb interactions.

Screening and collective excitations are environment-dependent at long wavelengths.

Abstract

Relaxing the assumption of "infinite and homogenous background" the dielectric response function of one-dimensional (1D) semiconducting nanowires embedded in a dielectric environment is calculated. It is shown that high-k (higher than semiconductor dielectric constant) dielectric environment reduces the screening by the free carriers inside the nanostructure whereas, low dielectric environment increases the Coulombic interaction between free carriers and enhances the strength of screening function. In long wavelength limit, dielectric screening and collective excitation of electron gas are found to be solely determined by the environment instead of the semiconductor. Behavior of static dielectric function is particularly addressed at a specific wavevector q=2k_F; a wavevector ubiquitously appears in charge transport in nanostructures