Imaging of nonlocal hot-electron energy dissipation via shot noise

In modern microelectronic devices, hot electrons accelerate, scatter, and dissipate energy in nanoscale dimensions. Despite recent progress in nanothermometry, direct real-space mapping of hot-electron energy dissipation is challenging as existing techniques are restricted to probing the lattice rat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2018-05, Vol.360 (6390), p.775-778
Main Authors: Weng, Qianchun, Komiyama, Susumu, Yang, Le, An, Zhenghua, Chen, Pingping, Biehs, Svend-Age, Kajihara, Yusuke, Lu, Wei
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aluminum
Arsenic
Arsenides
Climate
Conductors
Crystal lattices
Electron energy
Energy
Energy dissipation
Gallium
Gallium arsenide
Hot electrons
Intermetallic compounds
Local current
Low temperature
Noise
Noise measurement
Optical measurement
Shot noise
Spatial discrimination
Spatial resolution
Temperature effects
Tungsten
Variation
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Summary:In modern microelectronic devices, hot electrons accelerate, scatter, and dissipate energy in nanoscale dimensions. Despite recent progress in nanothermometry, direct real-space mapping of hot-electron energy dissipation is challenging as existing techniques are restricted to probing the lattice rather than the electrons. We realize electronic nanothermometry by measuring local current fluctuations, or shot noise, associated with ultrafast hot-electron kinetic processes (~21 terahertz). Exploiting a scanning and contact-free tungsten tip as a local noise probe, we directly visualize hot-electron distributions prior to their thermal equilibration with the host GaAs/AlGaAs crystal lattice. With nanoconstriction devices, we reveal unexpected nonlocal energy dissipation at room temperature, which is reminiscent of ballistic transport of low temperature quantum conductors.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.aam9991