ABSTRACT
The electrical properties of solids are among the most sought after of the physical characteristics for device applications. The basic importance to the electronic properties of nano- and mesoscopic systems is the deviation of behavior that arises from a limitation of the dimensions, in which the electrons or charge carriers are free to move. In low-dimensional systems, the above description is insufficient to understand the transport of charge carriers. The idea of the length scale to define physical phenomena is useful in determining at which effective size of object certain effects become noticeable. The diffusion constant originates from the diffusion equation and relates the gradients in the electron density with the movement of charge carriers. The construction of a wave packet is well-known in quantum mechanics and can be used to describe the quantum mechanical representation of the electron as a wave. Electron–electron scattering can also lead to dephasing, since energy is transferred between scatterers.
