We present measurements of the conduction of nondegenerate free electrons along a low-dimensional channel at low temperatures, using surface-state electrons on liquid helium in novel microelectronic devices. Above 1 K, the electrons form an ideal classical Drude conductor. Below 1 K, Coulomb interactions produce electronic spatial order, leading to strong non-Ohmic effects and negative differential conductivity. Evidence is presented for self-organized current filaments in the channel, created by a nonequilibrium phase transition. Periodic conductance oscillations suggest an anisotropic spatial order with lines of electrons along the channel edges.

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We show that small numbers of electrons, including a single electron, can be held in a novel electrostatic trap above the surface of superfluid helium. A potential well is created using microfabricated electrodes in a 5 µm diameter pool of helium. Electrons are injected into the trap from an electron reservoir on a helium microchannel. They are individually detected using a superconducting single-electron transistor (SET) as an electrometer. A Coulomb staircase is observed as electrons leave the trap one-by-one until the trap is empty. A design for a scalable quantum information processor using arrays of electron traps is presented. 73.50.Gr

We present measurements of the resonant microwave excitation of Rydberg energy levels for surface-state electrons on superfluid helium. The temperature-dependent contribution to the linewidth gamma(T) agrees with theoretical predictions and is very small below 700 mK, in the ripplon scattering regime. Absorption saturation and power broadening were observed as the fraction of electrons in the first excited state was increased to 0.49, close to the thermal excitation limit of 0.5. The Rabi frequency Omega was determined as a function of microwave power. High values of the ratio Omega/gamma confirm this system as an excellent candidate for creating qubits.

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