In recent years, remarkable progress in the fabrication of novel mesoscopic devices has produced a revival of interest in quantum Hall physics. New types of measurements, more precise and efficient than ever, have made it possible to focus closely on the electronic properties of quantum Hall edge states. This is achieved by applying charge and heat currents at mesoscopic length scales, attaching metallic gates and Ohmic contacts, and splitting edge channels with the help of quantum point contacts. The experiments reveal fascinating new phenomena, such as the interference, statistics, and topological phase shifts of fractionally charged quasi-particles, strong interaction and correlation effects, and phase transitions induced by non-Gaussian fluctuations. The thesis discusses some puzzling results of these experiments and presents a coherent picture of mesoscopic effects in quantum Hall systems, which accounts for integer and fractional filling factors and ranges from microscopic theory to effective models, and covers both equilibrium and non-equilibrium phenomena.

Mesoscopic physics deals with systems larger than single atoms but small enough to retain their quantum properties. The possibility to create and manipulate conductors of the nanometer scale has given birth to a set of phenomena that have revolutionized physics: quantum Hall effects, persistent currents, weak localization, Coulomb blockade, etc. This Special Issue tackles the latest developments in the field. Contributors discuss time-dependent transport, quantum pumping, nanoscale heat engines and motors, molecular junctions, electron–electron correlations in confined systems, quantum thermo-electrics and current fluctuations. The works included herein represent an up-to-date account of exciting research with a broad impact in both fundamental and applied topics.

Advances in semiconductor technology have made possible the fabrication of structures whose dimensions are much smaller than the mean free path of an electron. This book gives a thorough account of the theory of electronic transport in such mesoscopic systems. After an initial chapter covering fundamental concepts, the transmission function formalism is presented, and used to describe three key topics in mesoscopic physics: the quantum Hall effect; localisation; and double-barrier tunnelling. Other sections include a discussion of optical analogies to mesoscopic phenomena, and the book concludes with a description of the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism and its relation to the transmission formalism. Complete with problems and solutions, the book will be of great interest to graduate students of mesoscopic physics and nanoelectronic device engineering, as well as to established researchers in these fields.

Annotation David K. Ferry introduces the physics and applications of transport in mesoscopic and nanoscale electronic systems and devices and expands on the behaviour of these novel devices the numerous effects not seen in bulk semiconductors. Including coverage of recent developments, and with a chapter on carbon-based nanoelectronics, this work will provide a good course text for advanced students or as a handy reference for researchers or those entering this interdisciplinary area.

Opening with a brief historical account of electron transport from Ohm's law through transport in semiconductor nanostructures, this book discusses topics related to electronic quantum transport. The book is written for graduate students and researchers in the field of mesoscopic semiconductors or in semiconductor nanostructures. Highlights include review of the cryogenic scanning probe techniques applied to semiconductor nanostructures.

Semiconductor technology has developed considerably during the past several decades. The exponential growth in microelectronic processing power has been achieved by a constant scaling down of integrated cir,cuits. Smaller fea ture sizes result in increased functional density, faster speed, and lower costs. One key ingredient of the LSI technology is the development of the lithog raphy and microfabrication. The current minimum feature size is already as small as 0.2 /tm, beyond the limit imposed by the wavelength of visible light and rapidly approaching fundamental limits. The next generation of devices is highly likely to show unexpected properties due to quantum effects and fluctuations. The device which plays an important role in LSIs is MOSFETs (metal oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors). In MOSFETs an inversion layer is formed at the interface of silicon and its insulating oxide. The inversion layer provides a unique two-dimensional (2D) system in which the electron concentration is controlled almost freely over a very wide range. Physics of such 2D systems was born in the mid-1960s together with the development of MOSFETs. The integer quantum Hall effect was first discovered in this system.

Comprehensive and accessible coverage from the basics to advanced topics in modern quantum condensed matter physics.