Non Equilibrium Electronic Distribution in Single Electron Devices

TL;DR

This paper investigates how electronic distributions in small single-electron devices deviate from thermal equilibrium, influenced by tunneling processes, leading to asymmetric I-V characteristics and variable effective temperatures.

Contribution

It introduces a model for non-equilibrium electronic distributions in single-electron devices considering energy-dependent tunneling rates.

Findings

Effective temperature can be higher or lower than the environment's temperature.

I-V characteristics exhibit asymmetry due to non-equilibrium effects.

Comparison with experiments supports the theoretical model.

Abstract

The electronic distribution in devices with sufficiently small diemnsions may not be in thermal equilibrium with their surroundings. Systems where the occupancies of electronic states are solely determined by tunneling processes are analyzed. It is shown that the effective temperature of the device may be higher, or lower, than that of its environment, depending on the applied voltage and the energy dependence of the tunneling rates. The I-V characteristics become asymmetric. Comparison with recent experiments is made.