Diffusion induced by grain boundaries: a SHE model (Q815087)

This paper deals with a diffusive model of electron transport in a two-dimensional superlattice, consisting in a collection of microcrystals separated by thin regions, called grain boundaries. Such device is of importance in many technological applications, such as gas detectors. \noindent From a purely mathematical point of view, the paper can be considered as the two-dimensional generalization of a previous work, dealing with the one-dimensional case [\textit{N. Ben Abdallah, P. Degond, A. Mellet} and \textit{F. Poupaud}, Q. Appl. Math. 61, No. 1, 161--192 (2003; Zbl 1099.82017)]. The microcrystals are modeled as periodically arranged squares, of side \(\alpha\), and the grain boundaries are just the interfaces between two adjacent grains. In the grains, the electron phase-space distribution function \(f^\alpha\) is assumed to obey the classical collisionless Vlasov equation with assigned, slowly-varying, external field. At the grain boundaries, elastic reflection-transmission conditions are imposed, with assigned reflection \({\mathcal R}\) and transmission \({\mathcal T}\) coefficients. The initial datum is assumed to be regular enough, to avoid treatment of initial layers. The kinetic model is studied in the limit \(\alpha \to 0\) and the main result is the rigorous proof of the weak-\(*\) convergence of \(f^\alpha\) to the solution of a diffusive model in space-energy variables (the so-called SHE model). The diffusion coefficients are explicitly written in terms of \({\mathcal R}\) and~\({\mathcal T}\).