Quantum thermal transistor in superconducting circuits

TL;DR

This paper proposes a practical design for a quantum thermal transistor using superconducting circuits, enabling heat current control similar to electronic transistors, with potential for low-power logical devices.

Contribution

It introduces a concrete superconducting circuit implementation of a quantum thermal transistor based on the Jaynes-Cummings model.

Findings

Demonstrates heat transfer control via a three-terminal superconducting device.

Shows transistor-like behavior with heat currents depending on gate temperature.

Provides a feasible design for quantum thermal logic components.

Abstract

Logical devices based on electrical currents are ubiquitous in modern society. However, digital logic does have some drawbacks such as a relatively high power consumption. It is therefore of great interest to seek alternative means to build logical circuits that can either work as stand-alone devices or in conjunction with more traditional electronic circuits. One direction that holds great promise is the use of heat currents for logical components. In the present paper, we discuss a recent abstract proposal for a quantum thermal transistor and provide a concrete design of such a device using superconducting circuits. Using a circuit quantum electrodynamics Jaynes-Cummings model, we propose a three-terminal device that allows heat transfer from source to drain, depending on the temperature of a bath coupled at the gate modulator, and show that it provides similar properties to a conventional semiconductor transistor.