Harvesting dissipated energy with a mesoscopic ratchet

B. Roche (1, 2) , P. Roulleau (1, 2) , T. Jullien (1, 2) , Y. Jompol (1, 2) , I. Farrer (3) , D.A. Ritchie (3) , D.C. Glattli (2, 1)

1 SPEC - UMR3680 - Service de physique de l'état condensé
2 GNE - Groupe Nano-Electronique
3 Cavendish Laboratory

The search for new efficient thermoelectric devices converting waste heat into electrical energy is of major importance. The physics of mesoscopic electronic transport offers the possibility to develop a new generation of nanoengines with high efficiency. Here we describe an all-electrical heat engine harvesting and converting dissipated power into an electrical current. Two capacitively coupled mesoscopic conductors realized in a two-dimensional conductor form the hot source and the cold converter of our device. In the former, controlled Joule heating generated by a voltage-biased quantum point contact results in thermal voltage fluctuations. By capacitive coupling the latter creates electric potential fluctuations in a cold chaotic cavity connected to external leads by two quantum point contacts. For unequal quantum point contact transmissions, a net electrical current is observed proportional to the heat produced.

Domains: Physics [physics]

B. Roche, P. Roulleau, T. Jullien, Y. Jompol, I. Farrer, et al.. Harvesting dissipated energy with a mesoscopic ratchet. Nature Communications, 2015, 6, pp.6738. ⟨10.1038/ncomms7738⟩. ⟨cea-01366531⟩