Nanostructures and Mesoscopic Systems presents the proceedings of the International Symposium held in Santa Fe, New Mexico on May 20-24, 1991. The book discusses nanostructure physics; nanostructures in motion; and advances in nanostructure fabrication. The text also describes ballistic transport and coherence; low-dimensional tunneling; and electron correlation and coulomb blockade. Banostructure arrays and collective effects; the theory and modeling of nanostructures; and mesoscopic systems are also encompassed. The book further tackles the optical properties of 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.

This book introduces researchers and students to the physical principles which govern the operation of solid-state devices whose overall length is smaller than the electron mean free path. In quantum systems such as these, electron wave behavior prevails, and transport properties must be assessed by calculating transmission amplitudes rather than microscopic conductivity. Emphasis is placed on detailing the physical laws that apply under these circumstances, and on giving a clear account of the most important phenomena. The coverage is comprehensive, with mathematics and theoretical material systematically kept at the most accessible level. The various physical effects are clearly differentiated, ranging from transmission formalism to the Coulomb blockade effect and current noise fluctuations. Practical exercises and solutions have also been included to facilitate the reader's understanding.

The advent of semiconductor structures whose characteristic dimensions are smaller than the mean free path of carriers has led to the development of novel devices, and advances in theoretical understanding of mesoscopic systems or nanostructures. This book has been thoroughly revised and provides a much-needed update on the very latest experimental research into mesoscopic devices and develops a detailed theoretical framework for understanding their behaviour. Beginning with the key observable phenomena in nanostructures, the authors describe quantum confined systems, transmission in nanostructures, quantum dots, and single electron phenomena. Separate chapters are devoted to interference in diffusive transport, temperature decay of fluctuations, and non-equilibrium transport and nanodevices. Throughout the book, the authors interweave experimental results with the appropriate theoretical formalism. The book will be of great interest to graduate students taking courses in mesoscopic physics or nanoelectronics, and researchers working on semiconductor nanostructures.

A carefully developed textbook focusing on the fundamental principles of nanoscale science and nanotechnology.

This volume collects several in-depth articles giving lucid discussions on new developments in statistical and condensed matter physics. Many, though not all, contributors had been in touch with the late S-K Ma. Written by some of the world's experts and originators of new ideas in the field, this book is a must for all researchers in theoretical physics. Most of the articles should be accessible to diligent graduate students and experienced readers will gain from the wealth of materials contained herein.

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.