Systematics of properties of the electron gas in deep-etched quantum wires

An efficient method is developed for an iterative solution of the Poisson and Schrödinger equations, which allows systematic studies of the properties of the electron gas in linear deep-etched quantum wires. A much simpler two-dimensional (2D) approximation is developed that accurately reproduces the results of the 3D calculations. A 2D Thomas-Fermi approximation is then derived, and shown to give a good account of average properties. Further, we prove that an analytic form due to Shikin et al. is a good approximation to the electron density given by the self-consistent methods. © 1996 The American Physical Society.