Tunneling in Nanoscale Devices

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that traditional 1D models of tunneling in nanoscale devices are inaccurate, and that tunneling physics in 2D or 3D can produce classical-like transport behavior even in quantum regimes.

Contribution

It reveals the limitations of 1D tunneling approximations and highlights the importance of higher-dimensional effects in nanoscale device transport.

Findings

1D models give incorrect dependence on tunneling parameters.

Transport in 2D/3D can appear classical despite quantum conditions.

Quantum tunneling can mimic Ohm's law in higher dimensions.

Abstract

Theoretical treatments of tunneling in electronic devices are often based on one-dimensional (1D) approximations. Here we show that for many nanoscale devices, such as widely studied semiconductor gate-defined quantum dots, 1D approximations yield an incorrect functional dependence on the tunneling parameters (e.g., lead width and barrier length) and an incorrect magnitude for the transport conductance. Remarkably, the physics of tunneling in 2D or 3D also yields transport behavior that appears classical (like Ohm's law), even deep in the quantum regime.