Brownian refrigeration by hybrid tunnel junctions

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.