Quantum thermodynamics of nanoscale thermoelectrics and electronic devices

Abstract

This mini-review is intended as a short introduction to electron flow in nanostructures. Its aim is to provide a brief overview of this topic for people who are interested in the thermodynamics of quantum systems but know little about nanostructures. We particularly emphasize devices that work in the steady-state, such as simple thermoelectrics, but also mention cyclically driven heat engines. We do not aim to be either complete or rigorous, but use a few pages to outline some of the main ideas in the topic.

20 page review prepared as a chapter for the book "Thermodynamics in the Quantum Regime - Recent Progress and Outlook"

References in corpus (28)

• Thermoelectric energy harvesting with quantum dots
• A quantum-dot heat engine operating close to the thermodynamic efficiency limits
• Quantum limit of heat flow across a single electronic channel
• Optimal energy quanta to current conversion
• Thermoelectric transport through strongly correlated quantum dots
• Micrometre-scale refrigerators
• Powerful and efficient energy harvester with resonant-tunneling quantum dots
• Strong bounds on Onsager coefficients and efficiency for three terminal thermoelectric transport in a magnetic field
• Otto refrigerator based on a superconducting qubit: classical and quantum performance
• Finding the quantum thermoelectric with maximal efficiency and minimal entropy production at given power output
• Autonomous Quantum Refrigerator in a Circuit-QED Architecture Based on a Josephson Junction
• Chiral thermoelectrics with quantum Hall edge states
• Attojoule calorimetry of mesoscopic superconducting loops
• Heat diode and engine based on quantum Hall edge states
• Bound on Thermoelectric Power in a Magnetic Field within Linear Response
• Quantum Nernst engines
• Thermoelectric power factor limit of a 1D nanowire
• Experiments on thermoelectric properties of quantum dots
• Fast thermometry with a proximity Josephson junction
• Odd-frequency Superconductivity Revealed by Thermopower
• Correlation-induced refrigeration with superconducting single-electron transistors
• Real-time diagrammatic approach to current-induced forces: Application to quantum-dot based nanomotors
• Helical thermoelectrics and refrigeration
• Enhanced thermoelectric response in the fractional quantum Hall effect
• Quantized Charge Pumping through a Carbon Nanotube Double Quantum Dot
• Thermoelectrics of Interacting Nanosystems -- Exploiting Superselection instead of Time-Reversal Symmetry
• An interacting adiabatic quantum motor
• High-performance electronic cooling with superconducting tunnel junctions

Cited by in corpus (12)

• Non-equilibrium System as a Demon
• Quantum Brownian Motion for Magnets
• Quantifying nonequlibrium thermodynamic operations in a multiterminal mesoscopic system
• General bounds on electronic shot noise in the absence of currents
• Comparative study of heat-driven and power-driven refrigerators with Coulomb-coupled quantum dots
• Multi-terminal far-from-equilibrium thermoelectric nano-devices in the Kondo regime
• Quantifying the quantum heat contribution from a driven superconducting circuit
• Role of coherence in quantum-dot-based nanomachines within the Coulomb blockade regime
• Quantum thermocouples: nonlocal conversion and control of heat in nanostructures
• Thermal control across a chain of electronic nanocavities
• Regimes and quantum bounds of nanoscale thermoelectrics with peaked transmission function
• Non-linear regime for enhanced performance of an Aharonov-Bohm heat engine