Coulomb blockade and Kondo effect in quantum dots

TL;DR

This paper reviews how electron interactions in quantum dots lead to Coulomb blockade at moderate low temperatures and the Kondo effect at even lower temperatures, affecting conductance behavior.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of the temperature-dependent conductance in quantum dots, emphasizing the transition from Coulomb blockade to Kondo effect for S=1/2 spins.

Findings

Conductance is suppressed by Coulomb blockade at moderate low temperatures.

Conductance increases again at lower temperatures due to the Kondo effect.

The paper details the temperature dependence of conductance in the Kondo regime.

Abstract

We review the mechanisms of low-temperature electron transport across a quantum dot weakly coupled to two conducting leads. Conduction in this case is controlled by the interaction between electrons. At temperatures moderately lower than the single-electron charging energy of the dot, the linear conductance is suppressed by the Coulomb blockade. Upon further lowering of the temperature, however, the conductance may start to increase again due to the Kondo effect. This increase occurs only if the dot has a non-zero spin S. We concentrate on the simplest case of S=1/2, and discuss the conductance across the dot in a broad temperature range, which includes the Kondo temperature. Temperature dependence of the linear conductance in the Kondo regime is discussed in detail. We also consider a simple (but realistic) limit in which the differential conductance at a finite bias can be fully investigated.