# Heat diodes made of quantum dots embedded in nanowires connected to metallic electrodes

## TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how quantum dot arrays embedded in nanowires can function as heat diodes with rectification effects influenced by electron transport, Coulomb interactions, and phonon heat currents.

## Contribution

It introduces a heat diode model based on quantum dot arrays in nanowires, analyzing the effects of electron interactions and energy level control on heat rectification efficiency.

## Key findings

- Electron heat rectification is achieved in QDA nanowire systems.
- Coulomb interactions affect the rectification efficiency.
- Reducing phonon heat currents enhances diode performance.

## Abstract

The quantum dot arrays (QDAs) embedded into inhomogeneous nanowires connected to metallic electrodes show an electron heat rectification effect, which is attributed to the thermal voltage arising from a temperature bias and the QDA with a broken spatial inversion symmetry. The staircase energy levels of QDAs can be controlled to the resonant and off resonant transports for electrons in the forward and backward temperature biases, respectively. The effect of electron Coulomb interactions on the rectification efficiency of heat diode is clarified by the case of double QDs. We find that it is important to reduce phonon heat currents for implementing a high efficient electron heat diode at high temperature.