QFluctTrans · Thermodynamics of Quantum Transport
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2016-04-01 → 2018-08-31
- EU contribution
- €170,122
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-ST
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Results in brief
Thermodynamics of Quantum Transport
The continuous technological improvement of electronics depends on the miniaturization of the underlying components. They have reached the points where the building blocks are molecules. These molecular devices operate in the mesoscopic regime where quantum mechanics and thermodynamics dominate together. The electrons on the scale of molecules behave following the laws of quantum mechanics, while the heat flow through the devices has thermodynamic fluctuations that limit how much heat can flow. This a big challenge to industrial applications, as our current engineering principles are not suitable for this. In this project, we addressed this issue directly by developing new theoretical tools to describe this regime successfully. Such advancements will be crucial in all sorts of thermal and electrical devices. The main objectives of this project where to overcome the limitations of state-of-the-art by using the tools from quantum non-equilibrium thermodynamics to understand the fundamental effects of fluctuations in transport in realistic molecular devices. We focused on two concrete challenges that combined complete the objective. First, we used tools from information theory to understand quantum coherences as a novel thermodynamic forces in mesoscopic devices. We showed how this was able to unlock new control techniques. The second challenge was to use standard techniques for molecular devices such to model transport in these devices. We made significant progress in this challenge. Together, the outcome of the two challenges gives us some ideas of how to understand the role of quantum decoherence by ab-initio of specific realistic molecular devices.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Electronic components are shrinking and finally reaching the scale of single molecules; promising novel applications to sensors, photovoltaics, heating and electronics. As these components get smaller, important and new physical phenomena impose limitations on how these devices can operate. Quantum mechanics and non-equilibrium thermodynamical fluctuations dominate, challenging all the conventional engineering tools accepted in electronics. The objective of this proposal is to use the novel tools from quantum non-equilibrium thermodynamics to understand the effects of fluctuations in transport in such devices. Average quantities that were good to characterize and control devices in the classical scale become inadequate, as the fluctuations of single trajectories of particles become very large. Although much work has been done to understand quantum thermodynamics, many questions are open regarding its impact on transport on molecular devices.The objective we propose will be addressed by research focused on overcoming the following challenges: (i) Understand the effect of quantum coherence as a thermodynamic potential in molecular devices. (ii) Apply the Open Quantum Systems TD-DFT functional to model transport in molecular devices (iii) Develop a consistent method to characterize transport devices with large quantum fluctuationsEach of these rely on existing theoretical techniques, but they have not been used together for the proposed purpose before.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSIDAD DEL PAIS VASCO/ EUSKAL HERRIKO UNIBERTSITATEA · LeioaCoordinatorSpain
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union