Brownian refrigeration by hybrid tunnel junctions

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© 2011 American Physical Society (APS). http://www.aps.org/

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Volume Title

School of Science | A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä

Date

2011

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Mcode

Degree programme

Language

en

Pages

144505/1-14

Series

Physical Review B, Volume 84, Issue 14

Abstract

Voltage fluctuations generated in a hot resistor can cause extraction of heat from a colder normal metal electrode of a hybrid tunnel junction between a normal metal and a superconductor. We extend the analysis presented in Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 210604 (2007) of this heat rectifying system, bearing resemblance to a Maxwell’s demon. Explicit analytic calculations show that the entropy of the total system is always increasing. We then consider a single-electron transistor configuration with two hybrid junctions in series, and show how the cooling is influenced by charging effects. We analyze also the cooling effect from nonequilibrium fluctuations instead of thermal noise, focusing on the shot noise generated in another tunnel junction. We conclude by discussing limitations for an experimental observation of the effect.

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Keywords

Brownian refrigeration, hybrid tunnel junctions, superconductors, electrodes, heat rectifying systems, single-electron transistors

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Citation

Peltonen, J. T. & Helle, M. & Timofeev, A. V. & Solinas, P. & Hekking, F. W. J. & Pekola, Jukka. 2011. Brownian refrigeration by hybrid tunnel junctions. Physical Review B. Volume 84, Issue 14. 144505/1-14. ISSN 1098-0121 (printed). DOI: 10.1103/physrevb.84.144505.