Phonon-Induced Current Noise in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes across the Ballistic-Diffusive Crossover

Abstract

We theoretically elucidate the system length ($L$) dependence of phonon-induced current noise in carbon nanotubes at room temperature over a broad range, encompassing the quantum ballistic and classical diffusive regimes. The power spectral density for the current noise is maximally enhanced when $L$ is comparable to the mean free path $L_0$ of an electron. In the ballistic limit of $L/L_0\ll 1$, the power spectral density increases in proportion to $L$, whereas in the diffusive limit of $L/L_0\gg 1$, it shows a power-law decay $L^{-\alpha}$ with a scaling parameter $\alpha=3.81$. The noise decay for single-walled carbon nanotubes is faster than that previously predicted based on a simple model because of the various electron-phonon scattering processes and the complex energy dependence of the phonon relaxation time.