Thermoelectric Effects and Single Electron Sources in Mesoscopic Transport; a Scattering Approach

Sammanfattning: This thesis concerns the theoretical analysis of thermoelectric transport properties and single electron sources in mesoscopic conductors. Wepropose two types of thermoelectric heat engines and analyze them with thehelp of performance quantifiers. We also investigate and compare theproperties of different single electron sources, focusing on their coupledcharge and energy transport. As a common denominator, all investigationsare carried out within the framework of scattering theory. The thesis comprises four papers.In Paper I we propose a thermoelectric heat engine in a two terminalquantum Hall conductor, based only on quantum interference and withefficiency and power production close to the theoretical maximum.In Paper II we theoretically compare the combined energy and chargetransport properties of different single electron sources in mesoscopicsystems.In Paper III we analyze a quantum point contact as a thermoelectric heatengine, exploring the trade-off between efficient operation, large poweroutput and small fluctuations.In Paper IV we investigate the interplay between thermoelectric transportproperties and single electron sources, focusing on the role of quantumscreening effects.