Thermoelectric Corrections to Quantum Voltage Measurement

TL;DR

This paper derives an explicit formula for thermoelectric corrections to quantum voltage measurements, revealing significant effects in ballistic conductors and implications for precise electrical measurement accuracy.

Contribution

It generalizes Buttiker's voltage probe concept to finite temperatures and provides an analytic expression for thermoelectric correction in quantum circuits.

Findings

Thermoelectric correction can reach up to ±24% of the peak voltage.

The correction is significant in ballistic graphene nanoribbons.

Measurement non-ideality effects are also analyzed.

Abstract

A generalization of Buttiker's voltage probe concept for nonzero temperatures is an open third terminal of a quantum thermoelectric circuit. An explicit analytic expression for the thermoelectric correction to an ideal quantum voltage measurement is derived, and interpreted in terms of local Peltier cooling/heating within the nonequilibrium system. The thermoelectric correction is found to be large (up to +-24% of the peak voltage) in a prototypical ballistic quantum conductor (graphene nanoribbon). The effects of measurement non-ideality are also investigated. Our findings have important implications for precision local electrical measurements.