Quantum diffusion due to scattering non-locality in nanoscale semiconductors

Abstract

In view of its local character, the semiclassical or Boltzmann theory is intrinsically unable to describe transport phenomena on ultrashort space and time scales, and to this purpose genuine quantum-transport approaches are imperative. By employing a density-matrix simulation strategy recently proposed, we shall demonstrate its power and flexibility in describing quantum-diffusion phenomena in nanoscale semiconductors. In particular, as for the case of carrier-carrier relaxation in photoexcited semiconductors, our analysis will show the failure of simplified dephasing models in describing phonon-induced scattering non-locality, pointing out that such limitation is particularly severe for the case of quasielastic dissipation processes.

6 pages, 6 figures

References in corpus (4)

• Wigner-function formalism applied to semiconductor quantum devices: Failure of the conventional boundary-condition scheme
• Monte Carlo study of carrier-light coupling in terahertz quantum cascade lasers
• Temperature performance analysis of terahertz quantum cascade lasers: Vertical versus diagonal designs
• Interplay between energy dissipation and reservoir-induced thermalization in nonequilibrium quantum nanodevices

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Derivation of nonlinear single-particle equations via many-body Lindblad superoperators: A density-matrix approach
• Scattering nonlocality in quantum charge transport: Application to semiconductor nanostructures
• Lindblad approach to spatio-temporal quantum dynamics of phonon-induced carrier capture processes