Correlated charge transport in bilinear tunnel junction arrays

Abstract

We study theoretically the nature of correlations in space and time of the current in a one-dimensional bilinear array of tunnel junctions in the normal conduction limit, using the kinetic Monte Carlo method. The bilinear array consists of two parallel rows of tunnel junctions, capacitively coupled in a ladder configuration. The electrostatic potential landscape and the charge-charge interaction length both depend on the circuit capacitances, which in turn influence transport and charge correlations in the array. We observe the formation of stationary charge states when only one rail is voltage biased. When a symmetric bias is applied to both rails, the site at which the positive and negative charge carriers recombine can drift throughout the array. We also calculate charge densities and auto- and cross-correlation functions. © 2013 American Physical Society.