Microwave realization of quasi one-dimensional systems with correlated disorder

O. Dietz, U. Kuhl, H. -J. Stoeckmann, N. M. Makarov, F. M. Izrailev

Published 2010-12-02, updated 2011-05-11Version 2

A microwave setup for mode-resolved transport measurement in quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) structures is presented. We will demonstrate a technique for direct measurement of the Green's function of the system. With its help we will investigate quasi-1D structures with various types of disorder. We will focus on stratified structures, i.e., structures that are homogeneous perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation. In this case the interaction between different channels is absent, so wave propagation occurs individually in each open channel. We will apply analytical results developed in the theory of one-dimensional (1D) disordered models in order to explain main features of the quasi-1D transport. The main focus will be selective transport due to long-range correlations in the disorder. In our setup, we can intentionally introduce correlations by changing the positions of periodically spaced brass bars of finite thickness. Because of the equivalence of the stationary Schr\"odinger equation and the Helmholtz equation, the result can be directly applied to selective electron transport in nanowires, nanostripes, and superlattices.