Selective energy filtering in a multiple-quantum-well nanodevice: The quantum cascade cooler

作者：Guéric Etesse, Chloé Salhani, Xiangyu Zhu, Nicolas Cavassilas, Kazuhiko Hirakawa, Marc Bescond · 发表于：Physical Review Applied · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1103/physrevapplied.21.054010 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics、Quantum and electron transport phenomena、Thermal Radiation and Cooling Technologies

Using quantum transport simulations, we study the operating principle of a proposed quantum cascade cooler, a multiple-quantum-well structure whose cooling capabilities rely on combined resonant tunneling and thermionic-emission filtering. We couple charge and heat transport by self-consistently solving nonequilibrium Green's functions and the heat equation, and we subsequently calculate the thermodynamic properties of the electrons using noninvasive virtual probes. We show that this device exhibits bias-dependent electron-temperature oscillations emerging from electron-phonon interactions and intersubband transitions. Finally, we show the advantages of a multiple-quantum-well structure over a single quantum well and discuss the actual potential for such a structure to effectively cool down the crystal lattice upon optimization.