Electromotive force and internal resistance of an electron pump

TL;DR

This paper develops a scattering theory to analyze the electromotive force and internal resistance of an electron pump, highlighting how device performance depends on scattering and thermalization assumptions, with implications for open and closed circuit configurations.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework that characterizes electron pump performance using only two parameters under specific scattering and thermalization conditions.

Findings

Electromotive force is proportional to the driving frequency.

Open setup electromotive force adds to reservoir voltage to drive current.

Contact resistance differs between open and closed circuit configurations.

Abstract

We present a scattering theory of the electromotive force and internal resistance of an electron pump. The characterization of the device performance in terms of only two parameters requires the assumption of incoherent multiple scattering within the circuit and complete thermalization among electrons moving in a given direction. The electromotive force is shown to be of the order of the driving frequency in natural units. In an open setup, the electromotive force adds to the voltage difference between reservoirs to drive the current, both facing a contact resistance which is absent in the case of a closed circuit of uniform width.