Heat driven transport in serial double quantum dot devices

Abstract: Studies of thermally induced transport in nanostructures provide access to an exciting regime where fluctuations are relevant, enabling the investigation of fundamental thermodynamic concepts and the realization of thermal energy harvesters. We study a serial double quantum dot formed in an InAs/InP nanowire coupled to two electron reservoirs. By means of a specially designed local metallic joule-heater, the temperature of the phonon bath in the vicinity of the double quantum dot can be enhanced. This results in phonon-assisted transport, enabling the conversion of local heat into electrical power in a nano-sized heat engine. Simultaneously, the electron temperatures of the reservoirs are affected, resulting in conventional thermoelectric transport. By detailed modelling and experimentally tuning the interdot coupling we disentangle both effects. Furthermore, we show that phonon-assisted transport gives access to the energy of excited states. Our findings demonstrate the versatility of our design to study fluctuations and fundamental nanothermodynamics.