Electrical properties of three-terminal ballistic junctions

Based on the ballistic nature of electron transport, exploitable nonlinear transport phenomena are predicted for three-terminal ballistic junctions (TBJs). For a symmetric TBJ, it is shown that when finite voltages V-l and V-r are applied in push-pull fashion, with V-l=V and V-r=-V, to the left and right branches, the voltage output V-c from the central branch will always be negative. This characteristic appears even when the device symmetry is broken, provided that \V\ is greater than a certain threshold. It is also shown hat the TBJs exhibit parabolic behavior for V-c vs V, in the weak nonlinear response regime. Potential applications of these devices in nanoelectronics are discussed. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.