Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 7, 2026

Scalable Quantum Integrated Circuits on Superconducting Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Platform
Published on: August 2, 2019
Quantum limit of heat flow across a single electronic channel
S Jezouin1, F D Parmentier, A Anthore
1CNRS, Laboratoire de Photonique et de Nanostructures, UPR20, route de Nozay, 91460 Marcoussis, France.
Abstract:
Quantum physics predicts that there is a fundamental maximum heat conductance across a single transport channel and that this thermal conductance quantum, G(Q), is universal, independent of the type of particles carrying the heat. Such universality, combined with the relationship between heat and information, signals a general limit on information transfer. We report on the quantitative measurement of the quantum-limited heat flow for Fermi particles across a single electronic channel, using noise thermometry. The demonstrated agreement with the predicted G(Q) establishes experimentally this basic building block of quantum thermal transport. The achieved accuracy of below 10% opens access to many experiments involving the quantum manipulation of heat.
Related Concept Videos
Quantifying Heat
Calculation of First-Law Quantities II
Limits of the First Law of Thermodynamics
Heating and Cooling Curves
For instance, the addition of heat raises the temperature of a solid; the amount of heat absorbed depends on the heat capacity of the solid (q = mcsolidΔT). According to thermochemistry, the relation between the amount of heat absorbed or released by a substance, q, and its...
Joule-Thomson Effect
This experiment forces high-pressure gas through a throttle valve or a porous plug to a lower-pressure region. The gas expands as it passes through to...
Carrier Transport
Drift Current:
The drift of charge carriers is started by an external electric field (E). Charged particles, such as electrons and holes, experience an acceleration between collisions with lattice atoms. For electrons, this results in a drift velocity (vd) given by:
