Electronic current in a nano-mechanical kicked electron shuttle

Abstract

We have studied the phase-space dynamics and rectified current of a nano-electromechanical shuttle with two types of time-periodic potentials. By applying only sinusoidal voltage with frequency at one lead, regular shuttle motion constructs Arnold’s tongues in parameter space, where the motion in each tongue has a period of ∕ or 2∕. The rectified current in each tongue is finite for the 2∕ period but zero for the ∕ period. We then apply discrete kicks, the periods of which modify the period of motion in the tongues. We find that it is important to the rectified current whether the integer of the lowest common multiple between the two periods is even or odd. Specifically, the rectified current is finite in the tongues when the lowest common multiple integer is even, while the current is zero when the integer is odd. © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.