Tunneling in mesoscopic junctions

TL;DR

This paper uses the Numerical Renormalization Group method to analyze quantum tunneling in mesoscopic metal-insulator-metal junctions, focusing on static properties and conductivity influenced by electron interactions.

Contribution

It introduces a generalized orthodox model incorporating electron scattering interactions and applies NRG to compute static and transport properties of mesoscopic tunneling systems.

Findings

Calculated charge transfer and average charge properties.

Determined the junction's electric conductivity.

Analyzed effects of tunneling matrix elements and scattering potentials.

Abstract

We have applied the Numerical Renormalization Group method to study a mesoscopic system consisting of two samples of metal separated by an insulating barrier, with nanometer dimensions, which allows the tunnelling of a single electron from one to the other side of the junction. The junction is represented by a generalized orthodox model, taking into account the electronic scattering interaction due the hole and the tunnelling electrons, localized in the source and in the drain electrode, respectively. We have calculated the static properties (charge transference, charge average, quadractic charge average and specific heat) and the electric conductivity of the junction, for the model parameters given by the tunneling matrices element, the barrier energy and by the electronic scattering potentials acting on the electrons of the left(right) electrode.