Yale University physicist Leonid Glazman has developed a quantitative theory to explain the effect of quantum and thermal fluctuations of charge in tiny “electron puddles” for a study reported in the journal Nature.

Scientists at the Nanoscience Center in Paris have created an “electron puddle” within a semiconductor in order to study the particle-wave duality in the nature of electrons.

“Application of an electric potential led to the puddle’s charge increasing in steps,” says Glazman, the Donner Professor of Physics and Applied Physics. “The stronger the quantum and thermal fluctuations were, the more smeared these single-electron steps became. This smearing provided the quantitative measure for the fluctuations.”

Understanding the quantum laws of electricity is crucial in the development of future nanoelectronic devices, Glazman notes.

Frédéric Pierre of the French National Centre for Scientific Research led the experiment.

Source: Yale University