Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026

Scalable Quantum Integrated Circuits on Superconducting Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Platform
Published on: August 2, 2019
Quantum criticality in a Mott pn junction in an armchair carbon nanotube
Wei Chen1, A V Andreev, L I Glazman
1Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-1560, USA.
Abstract:
In an armchair carbon nanotube pn junction the p and n regions are separated by a region of a Mott insulator, which can backscatter electrons only in pairs. We predict a quantum-critical behavior in such a pn junction. Depending on the junction's built-in electric field E, its conductance G scales either to zero or to 4e(2)/h as the temperature T is lowered. The two types of the G(T) dependence indicate the existence, at some special value of E, of an intermediate quantum-critical point with a finite conductance G<4e(2)/h. This makes the pn junction drastically different from a simple potential barrier in a Luttinger liquid.
Related Concept Videos
P-N junction
Biasing of P-N Junction
In equilibrium, no external voltage is applied across the p-n junction. The depletion region is formed at the junction interface due to the diffusion of carriers, which leaves behind charged dopants, acceptors on the p-side, and donors on the n-side. These immobile charges create an electric field that prevents further diffusion of carriers. The related energy band...
Biasing of Metal-Semiconductor Junctions
In Schottky junctions, where the semiconductor is n-type, applying a positive voltage to the metal relative to the semiconductor reduces its Fermi...
Metal-Semiconductor Junctions
Schottky Barriers
Schottky barriers arise when a metal with a work function (Φm) contacts a semiconductor with a different work function (Φs). Initially, electrons transfer until the Fermi levels of the metal and semiconductor align at equilibrium. For instance, if Φm > Φs, the semiconductor Fermi level is higher than the metal's before contact. The semiconductor's...
The Quantum-Mechanical Model of an Atom

