Curvature Effects on Surface Electron States in Ballistic Nanostructures

The curvature effect on the electronic states of a deformed cylindrical conducting surface of variable diameter is theoretically investigated. The quantum confinement of electrons normal to the curved surface results in an effective potential energy that affects the electronic structures of the system at low energies. This suggests the possibility that ballistic transport of electrons in low-dimensional nanostructures can be controlled by inducing a local geometric deformation.