Abstract:
This dissertation is about electronic transport in nanoscale conductors. Nanotechnology and nanophysics are contemporary and emerging areas and that is because
of the ineteresting features that emerge as one explores smaller and smaller length
scales. These are subfields of condensed matter physics with a focus on electrical
transport phenomena occurring at nanoscale dimensions, and, hence quantum mechanics plays an important role.
Nanoscience deals with the study of systems whose size in atleast one of the
dimensions is less than 100 nm(1 nm= 10−9 m): for example a carbon nanotube
device has its radius of the order of 5 nm while length of the order of 0.5 µm. Depending on the temperature, interaction etc., nano dimensions can incorporate different
effects. Especially, quantum effects become inevitable in these systems. Depending
on the operational length scales different effects become dominant. Figure (1.1) is
a concise image showing the relevant length scales with examples of micro-, meso-,
and macrosystems.
