Year: 2005
Type: article
Abstract: Asymmetric current-voltage $[I(V)]$ curves, known as the diode or rectification effect, in one-dimensional electronic conductors can have their origin from scattering off a single asymmetric impurity in the system. We investigate this effect in the framework of the Tomonaga-Luttinger model for electrons with spin. We show that electron interactions strongly enhance the diode effect and lead to a pronounced current rectification even if the impurity potential is weak. For strongly interacting electrons and not too small voltages, the rectification current ${I}_{r}=[I(V)+I(\ensuremath{-}V)]∕2$, measuring the asymmetry in the current-voltage curve, has a power-law dependence on the voltage with a negative exponent, ${I}_{r}\ensuremath{\sim}{V}^{\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\mid}z\ensuremath{\mid}}$, leading to a bump in the current-voltage curve.
Source: Physical Review B
Authors: Bernd Braunecker, D. E. Feldman, J. B. Marston
Institution: Brown University
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2031108299