Coulomb Blockade in Single Tunnel-Junctions: Quantum Mechanical Effects of the Electromagnetic Environment

Published

January 1, 1991

Author(s)

K Flensberg, S Girvin, M Jonson, David R. Penn, Mark Stiles

Abstract

We discuss the interaction of a tunneling electron with its equilibrium electromagnetic environment. The environment of an isolated tunnel junction is modeled by a set of harmonic oscillators that are suddenly displaced when an electron tunnels across the junction. We treat these displaced oscillators quantum mechanically, predicting behavior that is very different than that predicted by a semiclassical treatment. In particular, the shape of the zero-bias anomaly caused by the Coulomb blockade (a single-electron charging effect), is found to be strongly dependent on the impedance, Z(ω), of the leads connected to the junction. Comparison with three recent experiments demonstrates that the quantum mechanical treatment of this model correctly describes the essential physics in these systems

Citation

Zeitschrift Fur Physik B-Condensed Matter

Volume

85

Issue

3

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

Local Download

Citation

Flensberg, K. , Girvin, S. , Jonson, M. , Penn, D. and Stiles, M. (1991), Coulomb Blockade in Single Tunnel-Junctions: Quantum Mechanical Effects of the Electromagnetic Environment, Zeitschrift Fur Physik B-Condensed Matter, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=620397 (Accessed May 11, 2026)

Additional citation formats