Probing Pauli Blocking Factors in Quantum Pumps with Broken Time-Reversal Symmetry

Abstract

A recently demonstrated quantum electron pump is discussed within the framework of photon-assisted tunneling. Because of lack of time-reversal symmetry, different results are obtained for the pump current depending on whether or not final-state Pauli blocking factors are used when describing the tunneling process. While in both cases the current depends quadratically on the driving amplitude for moderate pumping, a marked difference is predicted for the temperature dependence. With blocking factors the pump current decreases roughly linearly with temperature until k(B)T approximately Planck's over 2piomega is reached, whereas without them it is unaffected by temperature, indicating that the entire Fermi sea participates in the transport.