Transport of ions through a （6,6） carbon nanotube under electric fields

The transport of water and ions through carbon nanotubes （CNTs） is crucial in nanotechnology and biotechnology. Previous investigation indicated that the ions can hardly pass through （6,6） CNTs due to their hydrated shells. In the present study, utilizing molecular dynamics simulation, it is shown that the energy barrier mainly originating from the hydrated water molecules could be overcome by applying an electric field large enough in the CNT axis direction. Potential of mean force is calculated to show the reduction of energy barrier when the electric field is present for （Na＋, K＋, C1 ） ions. Consequently, ionic flux through （6,6） CNTs can be found once the electric field becomes larger than a threshold value. The variation of the coordination numbers of ions at different locations from the bulk to the center of the CNT is also explored to elaborate this dynamic process. The thresholds of the electric field are different for Na＋, K＋, and CI- due to their characteristics. This consequence might be potentially applied in ion selectivity in the future.     

Spin-flip Fano–Kondo resonant tunneling through a quantum dot interferometer responded by a rotating magnetic field

The Fano and Kondo cooperated resonant tunneling through a quantum dot interferometer under the perturbation of a rotating magnetic field is investigated theoretically. The spin-polarized current components have been derived generally by employing the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green?s function method, through which the charge and spin currents are determined directly. The numerical calculations on spin and charge currents are performed to show the compound features of mesoscopic transport associated with the Kondo, Fano, and Zeeman effects intimately. The induced spin current in the Kondo regime is much different from the one in the non-interacting regime. The spin current is tuned from resonant peak to valley by varying external parameters.     

Enhancement of the shot noise of a quantum dot–Luttinger lead system

We investigate the joint effects of the intralead electron interaction and Coulombic dot–lead interaction on the shot noise of a quantum dot coupled to Luttinger liquid leads. A formula of the shot noise is derived by applying the nonequilibrium Green function technique. The shot noise is enhanced by the dot–lead interaction. For a weak or moderately strong interaction the differential shot noise demonstrates resonant-like behavior as a function of bias and gate voltages. In the limit of strong interaction resonant behavior disappears and the differential shot noise and Fano factor scale as a power law in bias voltage. Under some parameters, the differential shot noise may become negative around resonant peaks, and the physical reason is analyzed.     

Controlled π-junctions in a T-shaped double quantum dot system

The π-junction transition of a T-shaped double quantum dot system is investigated theoretically by using the nonequilibrium Green’s function method. It is found that the π-junction transition can occur with increasing the spin-flip strength. Furthermore, the π-junction in the system can be controlled by tuning the system parameters, such as the two quantum dot energy levels and the interdot coupling. These controlled π-junction transitions are interpreted in the picture of current-carrying density of states. When the main contributions to supercurrent is changed between the positive discrete spectrum and the negative continuous spectrum, the π-junction transitions can happen.     

Spin-polarization-dependent transport in a quantum dot array coupled with an Aharonov-Bohm ring

In this paper the quantum transport in a dot-array coupled with an Aharonov–Bohm (AB) ring is investigated via single-band tight-binding Hamiltonian. It is shown that the output spin current is a periodic function of the magnetic flux in the quantum unit Φ₀. The resonance positions of the total transmission probability do not depend on the size of the AB ring but the electronic spectrum. Moreover, the persistent currents in the AB ring is also spin-polarization dependent and different from the isolated AB ring where the persistent current is independent of spin polarization.     

Influence of electron–phonon interaction on the properties of transport through double quantum dot with ferromagnetic leads

Electronic transport through a vibrating double quantum dot （DQD） in contact with noncollinear ferromagnetic （FM） leads is investigated. The state transition between the two dots of the DQD is excited by an AC microwave driving field. The corresponding currents and differential conductance are calculated in the Coulomb blockade regime by means of the Born-Markov master equation. It is shown that the interplay between electrons and phonons gives rise to phonon-assisted tunneling resonances and Franck-Condon blockade under certain conditions. In noncollinear magnetic configurations, spin-blockade effects are also observed, and the angle of polarization has some influence on the transport characteristics.     

High microwave absorption performances for single-walled carbon nanotube–epoxy composites with ultra-low loadings

Microwave-absorbing polymeric composites based on single-walled carbon nanotubes(SWNTs) are fabricated via a simple yet versatile method, and these SWNT–epoxy composites exhibit very impressive microwave absorption performances in a range of 2 GHz–18 GHz. For instance, a maximum absorbing value as high as 28 dB can be achieved for each of these SWNT–epoxy composites(1.3-mm thickness) with only 1 wt% loading of SWNTs, and about 4.8 GHz bandwidth,corresponding to a microwave absorption performance higher than 10 dB, is obtained. Furthermore, such low and appropriate loadings of SWNTs also enhance the mechanical strength of the composite. It is suggested that these remarkable results are mainly attributable to the excellent intrinsic properties of SWNTs and their homogeneous dispersion state in the polymer matrix.     

Two-photon emission in coupled biexciton quantum dot–cavity system： Phonon-assisted model

We theoretically analyze the steady state emission spectrum and transient temporal dynamics in a coupled biexciton quantum dot（QD）–cavity system. For steady state, a phonon-assisted biexciton–exciton cascade model under continuous wave（CW） excitation is presented to explain the asymmetric QD–cavity emission spectrum intensities（intensities of cavity,exciton, and biexciton emission peak） in off-resonance condition. Results demonstrate that the electron–phonon process is crucial to the asymmetry of emission spectrum intensity. Moreover the transient characteristics of the biexciton–exciton cascade system under pulse excitation show abundant nonlinear temporal dynamic behaviors, including complicated oscillations which are caused by the four-level structure of QD model. We also reveal that under off-resonance condition the cavity outputs are slightly reduced due to the electron–phonon interaction.     

Polarization switch in an elliptical micropillar – quantum dot system induced by a magnetic field in Faraday configuration

In this paper we study the effect of applying a magnetic field on an elliptical microcavity pillar with quantum dots embedded, in the presence of external laser excitation. To obtain the system dynamics we use the matrix density formalism, taking into account realistic parameters and including losses. Our results show that it is possible to use the magnetic field strength to control the polarization of the photons inside the cavity, making our system behave like a photon polarization switch. We also report the best set of parameters where this is possible. Our results also indicate that we can use the polarization of the cavity photons to look into the fine structure of the energy levels of quantum dots.     

Li adsorption on a Fullerene–Single wall carbon nanotube hybrid system: Density functional theory approach

In this study, we investigate Li adsorption mechanisms on the C₆₀-SWCNT hybrid system using density functional theory. It is found that the Li adsorption energy of the C₆₀-SWCNT hybrid system is increased in comparison to that of the pure SWCNT. The Li adsorption energy ranges from −1.917 eV to −2.642 eV for the single-Li adsorbed system and from −2.351 eV to −2.636 eV for the double-Li adsorbed system. It is also found that the adsorption energy becomes similar at most positions throughout the structure. In addition, the Li adsorption energy of 31-Li system is calculated to be −1.863 eV, which is significantly lower than the Li–Li binding energy (−1.030 eV). These results infer that Li atoms will be adsorbed on the space 1) between C₆₀ and C₆₀; 2) between SWCNT and C₆₀; 3) the rest of the space (e.g. between SWCNTs), rather than form Li clusters. As more Li atoms are adsorbed onto the C₆₀-SWCNT hybrid system due to such improved Li adsorption capability, the metallic character of the system is enhanced, which is confirmed via the band structure and electronic density of states.     

Dynamic dipole–dipole induction of coherence among a quantum dot ensemble

The quantum mechanical dynamic resonance due to dipole–dipole interaction is shown possibly to induce coherent modes of electrons within an ensemble of two-level systems or quantum dots. The physical origin of this coherence would naturally be postulated as the parity inheritance into a site being excited from another site being de-excited. An experimental spectrum suggestive of this dipole–dipole mode is also shown. This coherence is expected to be useful for quantum computing.     

Nonequilibrium Keldysh formalism for interacting leads—Application to quantum dot transport driven by spin bias

The conductance through a mesoscopic system of interacting electrons coupled to two adjacent leads is conventionally derived via the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green’s function technique, in the limit of noninteracting leads [Y. Meir, N.S. Wingreen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 68 (1992) 2512]. We extend the standard formalism to cater for a quantum dot system with Coulombic interactions between the quantum dot and the leads. The general current expression is obtained by considering the equation of motion of the time-ordered Green’s function of the system. The nonequilibrium effects of the interacting leads are then incorporated by determining the contour-ordered Green’s function over the Keldysh loop and applying Langreth’s theorem. The dot–lead interactions significantly increase the height of the Kondo peaks in density of states of the quantum dot. This translates into two Kondo peaks in the spin differential conductance when the magnitude of the spin bias equals that of the Zeeman splitting. There also exists a plateau in the charge differential conductance due to the combined effect of spin bias and the Zeeman splitting. The low-bias conductance plateau with sharp edges is also a characteristic of the Kondo effect. The conductance plateau disappears for the case of asymmetric dot–lead interaction.     

Finding tube–lead coupling strength in a single-walled carbon nanotube

For the first time, the electron–electron interaction energy relative to the coupling of a single-walled carbon nanotube to the involved leads is estimated analytically by considering a quantum box transversal to the longitudinal axis of the tube. In addition, the relation of our calculation to creation and annihilation operators associated with the above coupling is discussed.     

Nonlinear optical properties of a Woods–Saxon quantum dot under an electric field

A theoretical study of the effect of the confining potential on the nonlinear optical properties of two dimensional quantum dots is performed. A three-parameter Woods–Saxon potential is used within the density matrix formalism. The control of confinement by three parameters and an applied electric field gives one quite an advantage in studying their effects on the nonlinear properties. The coefficients investigated include the optical rectification, second and third-harmonic generation and the change in the refractive index. Their dependence on the electric field values, dot size and the energy of the incoming photons is studied extensively.It is shown that the Woods–Saxon potential can be used to model the confinement in quantum dots with considerable success.     

Charged and neutral biexciton–exciton cascade in a single quantum dot within a photonic bandgap

We investigate the recombination dynamics of positively charged and neutral biexcitons and excitons in a single InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) within a two-dimensional (2D) photonic bandgap (PBG). The 2D PBG makes the exciton lifetime four times longer and enhances photon-extraction efficiency compared to those without the PBG. Photon cross-correlation measurements demonstrate the cascade emissions of both charged and neutral biexcitons–excitons from the same QD. In the charged case, a hole in the p-shell relaxes into the s-shell between the cascade, and the corresponding transition is confirmed based on the spin configuration. The long exciton lifetime with the PBG helps us to reveal the spin dynamics that did not clearly appear in intrinsic QDs.     

Spin–orbit interaction induced current dip in a single quantum dot coupled to a spin

Experiments on semiconductor quantum dot systems have demonstrated the coupling between electron spins in quantum dots and spins localized in the neighboring area of the dots. Here we show that in a magnetic field the electrical current flowing through a single quantum dot tunnel-coupled to a spin displays a dip at the singlet–triplet anticrossing point which appears due to the spin–orbit interaction. We specify the requirements for which the current dip is formed and examine the properties of the dip for various system parameters, such as energy detuning, spin–orbit interaction strength, and coupling to leads. We suggest a parameter range in which the dip could be probed.