High-frequency single-electron transport in a quasi-one-dimensional GaAs channel induced by surface acoustic waves

Shilton, J. M.; Talyanskii, V. I.; Pepper, M.; Ritchie, D. A.; Frost, J. E. F.; Ford, Chris; Smith, C. G.; Jones, G. A. C.

doi:10.1088/0953-8984/8/38/001

Cited by 290 publications

(285 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…We get both positive and negative oscillations prior to complete QPC pinch off. The positions of the oscillation peaks correspond to the one-dimensional plateaus seen at standard low-temperature transport measurements [9,13]. At the elevated temperatures of our experiment, the contributions of different subbands are not distinguishable anymore resulting in the washing out of the conductance steps.…”

supporting

confidence: 62%

“…with SAW, without the suspended nanobridge (up to 1 nA [9]). Moreover, it exceeds the source-drain current without SAW in suspended nanobridge by one or two orders of magnitude in the regime of small gate voltages, see Fig.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar results were obtained in Refs. [9,13,21,22] and several theoretical models were subsequently proposed [14,15].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Giant acoustoelectric current in suspended quantum point contacts

et al. 2016

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confidence: 62%

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confidence: 99%

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Giant acoustoelectric current in suspended quantum point contacts

et al. 2016

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“…4). Several attempts to create a metrological current source that would comply with the demanding criteria of extreme accuracy, high yield and implementation with not too many control parameters have been reported [5][6][7][8][9][10][11] . Here, we propose and prove the unexpected concept of a hybrid normal-metalsuperconductor turnstile in the form of a one-island singleelectron transistor with one gate, which demonstrates robust current plateaux at multiple levels of e f at frequency f .…”

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confidence: 99%

Hybrid single-electron transistor as a source of quantized electric current

Pekola¹,

Vartiainen²,

et al. 2007

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The basis of synchronous manipulation of individual electrons in solid-state devices was laid by the rise of single electronics about two decades ago 1-3 . Ultrasmall structures in a low-temperature environment form an ideal domain for addressing electrons one by one. In the so-called metrological triangle, voltage from the Josephson effect and resistance from the quantum Hall effect would be tested against current via Ohm's law for a consistency check of the fundamental constants of nature,h and e (ref. 4). Several attempts to create a metrological current source that would comply with the demanding criteria of extreme accuracy, high yield and implementation with not too many control parameters have been reported [5][6][7][8][9][10][11] . Here, we propose and prove the unexpected concept of a hybrid normal-metalsuperconductor turnstile in the form of a one-island singleelectron transistor with one gate, which demonstrates robust current plateaux at multiple levels of e f at frequency f .Synchronized sources, where current I is related to frequency by I = N ef and N is the integer number of electrons injected in one period, are the prime candidates for the devices to define one ampere in quantum metrology. The accuracy of these devices is based on the discreteness of the electron charge and the high accuracy of frequency determined from atomic clocks. Modern methods are replacing classical definitions of electrical quantities; voltage can be derived on the basis of the a.c. Josephson effect of superconductivity 12 and resistance by the quantum Hall effect 13,14 , but one ampere still needs to be determined via the mutual force exerted by the leads carrying the current. Early proposals of current pumps for quantum metrology were based on arrays of mesoscopic metallic tunnel junctions 5,6 , in which small currents could eventually be pumped at very low error rates 7 . However, these multijunction devices are hard to control and relatively slow 15 . Thus, the quest for feasible implementation with a possibility of parallel architecture for higher yield have led to alternative solutions such as surface-acoustic-wave-driven one-dimensional channels 8 , superconducting devices 11,16-21 and semiconducting quantum dots 22 . These do produce large currents in the nano-ampere range but their accuracy is still limited.Surprisingly, a simple hybrid single-electron transistor, with a small normal-metal (N) island and superconducting (S) leads, has been overlooked in this context. As demonstrated here, an SNS transistor, or alternatively an NSN transistor, see Fig. 1, presents a robust turnstile for electrons showing current plateaux at multiples of ef . We emphasize here that a one-island turnstile does not work even in principle without the hybrid design. An important feature in the present system is that hybrid tunnel junctions suppress tunnelling in an energy range determined by the gap ∆ in the density of states of the superconductor, see Fig. 1d bottom inset; current through a junction vanishes as long as |V J | ∼ < ∆/e...

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“…These SET devices allow control of elementary charge transfer at the rate of a clock signal [69]. The amplitude of the delivered current is simply given by the product of the elementary charge e and frequency f. Its value is rather low, of the order of 1 pA or, at best, less than 1 nA for more recent SET devices based on surface acoustic waves (SAW) [70]. Therefore, measurement of this current with metrological accuracy, for example within an uncertainty of one part in 10 6 , requires a highly accurate amplifier and the CCC is the most appropriate instrument.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%