Stochastic model of nanomechanical electron shuttles and symmetry breaking.

Zhao, Mo; Blick, Robert H · Phys Rev E · 2016

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Nanomechanical electron shuttles can work as ratchets for radio-frequency rectification. We develop a full stochastic model of coupled shuttles, where the mechanical motion of nanopillars and the incoherent electronic tunneling are modeled by a Markov chain. In particular, the interaction of their randomness is taken into account, so that a linear master equation is constructed. Numerical solutions from our fast approximate method and analytical derivation reveal the symmetry breaking, which results in the direct current observed in earlier measurements [Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 067204 (2010)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.105.067204]. Additionally, the method can facilitate device simulation of more complex designs such as shuttle arrays.