Abstract
Thermoelectric transport coefficients are determined for semiconductor quantum wires with weak thickness fluctuations. Such systems exhibit anomalies in conductance near 1/4 and 3/4 of on the rising edge to the first conductance plateau, explained by singlet and triplet resonances of conducting electrons with a single weakly bound electron in the wire [T. Rejec, A. Ramšak, and J.H. Jefferson, Phys. Rev. B 62, 12 985 (2000)]. We extend this work to study the Seebeck thermopower coefficient and linear thermal conductance within the framework of the Landauer-Büttiker formalism, which also exhibit anomalous structures. These features are generic and robust, surviving to temperatures of a few degrees. It is shown quantitatively how at elevated temperatures thermal conductance progressively deviates from the Wiedemann-Franz law.
- Received 26 November 2001
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.65.235301
©2002 American Physical Society