Gate-defined quantum dots on carbon nanotubes

Control of tunnel barriers in multi-wall carbon nanotubes using focused ion beam irradiation

We have formed tunnel barriers in individual multi-wall carbon nanotubes using the Ga focused ion beam irradiation. The barrier height was estimated by the temperature dependence of the current (Arrhenius plot) and the current-voltage curves (Fowler-Nordheim plot). It is shown that the barrier height has a strong correlation with the barrier resistance that is controlled by the dose. Possible origins for the variation in observed barrier characteristics are discussed. Finally, the single electron transistor with two barriers is demonstrated.

Strongly Coupled Nanotube Electromechanical Resonators

Coupling an electromechanical resonator with carbon-nanotube quantum dots is a significant method to control both the electronic charge and the spin quantum states. By exploiting a novel microtransfer technique, we fabricate two separate strongly coupled and electrically tunable mechanical resonators for the first time. The frequency of the two resonators can be individually tuned by the bottom gates, and in each resonator, the electron transport through the quantum dot can be strongly affected by the phonon mode and vice versa. Furthermore, the conductance of either resonator can be nonlocally modulated by the other resonator through phonon-phonon interaction between the two resonators. Strong coupling is observed between the phonon modes of the two resonators, where the coupling strength larger than 200 kHz can be reached. This strongly coupled nanotube electromechanical resonator array provides an experimental platform for future studies of the coherent electron-phonon interaction, the phonon-mediated long-distance electron interaction, and entanglement state generation.

Tunable double and triple quantum dots in carbon nanotube with local side gates

We demonstrate a simple but efficient design for forming tunable single, double and triple quantum dots (QDs) in a sub-μm-long carbon nanotube (CNT) with two major features that distinguish this design from that of traditional CNT QDs: the use of i) Al2Ox tunnelling barriers between the CNT and metal contacts and ii) local side gates for controlling both the height of the potential barrier and the electron-confining potential profile to define multiple QDs. In a serial triple QD, in particular, we find that a stable molecular coupling state exists between two distant outer QDs. This state manifests in anti-crossing charging lines that correspond to electron and hole triple points for the outer QDs. The observed results are also reproduced in calculations based on a capacitive interaction model with reasonable configurations of electrons in the QDs. Our design using artificial tunnel contacts and local side gates provides a simple means of creating multiple QDs in CNTs for future quantum-engineering applications.

Facile covalent immobilization of cadmium sulfide quantum dots on graphene oxide nanosheets: preparation, characterization, and optical properties

A facile approach for the preparation of a novel hybrid material containing graphene and an inorganic semiconducting material, cadmium sulfide quantum dots (CdS QDs), is demonstrated for the first time. First, amino-functionalized CdS QDs were prepared by modifications of the kinetic trapping method. Then, pristine graphite was oxidized and exfoliated to obtain graphene oxide nanosheets (GONS), which were then acylated with thionyl chloride to introduce acyl chloride groups on their surface. Subsequently, immobilization of the CdS QDs on the GONS surface was achieved through an amidation reaction between the amino groups located on the CdS QDs surface and the acyl chloride groups bound to the GONS surface. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H-NMR), x-ray diffraction (XRD), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) spectroscopy were employed to investigate the changes in the surface functionalities, while high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and field emission scanning electronic microscopy (FE-SEM) were used to study the morphologies and distribution of the CdS QDs on the GONS surface. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was employed to characterize the weight loss of the samples on heating. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements were used to study the optical properties of the prepared CdS QDs and the CdS-graphene hybrid material.

Gate-defined graphene double quantum dot and excited state spectroscopy

A double quantum dot is formed in a graphene nanoribbon device using three top gates. These gates independently change the number of electrons on each dot and tune the interdot coupling. Transport through excited states is observed in the weakly coupled double dot regime. We extract from the measurements all relevant capacitances of the double dot system, as well as the quantized level spacing.

Transport and strong-correlation phenomena in carbon nanotube quantum dots in a magnetic field

Transport through carbon nanotube (CNT) quantum dots (QDs) in a magnetic field is discussed. The evolution of the system from the ultraviolet to the infrared is analyzed; the strongly correlated (SC) states arising in the infrared are investigated. Experimental consequences of the physics are presented-the SC states arising at various fillings are shown to be drastically different, with distinct signatures in the conductance and, in particular, the noise. Besides CNT QDs, our results are also relevant to double-QD systems.

Chemical complexity of volatiles from plants induced by multiple attack

The attack of a plant by herbivorous arthropods can result in considerable changes in the plant's chemical phenotype. The emission of so-called herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPV) results in the attraction of carnivorous enemies of the herbivores that induced these changes. HIPV induction has predominantly been investigated for interactions between one plant and one attacker. However, in nature plants are exposed to a variety of attackers, either simultaneously or sequentially, in shoots and roots, causing much more complex interactions than have usually been investigated in the context of HIPV. To develop an integrated view of how plants respond to their environment, we need to know more about the ways in which multiple attackers can enhance, attenuate, or otherwise alter HIPV responses. A multidisciplinary approach will allow us to investigate the underlying mechanisms of HIPV emission in terms of phytohormones, transcriptional responses and biosynthesis of metabolites in an effort to understand these complex plant-arthropod interactions.

Cooling carbon nanotubes to the phononic ground state with a constant electron current

We present a quantum theory of cooling of a mechanical resonator using back action with a constant electron current. The resonator device is based on a doubly clamped nanotube, which mechanically vibrates and acts as a double quantum dot for electron transport. Mechanical vibrations and electrons are coupled electrostatically using an external gate. The fundamental eigenmode is cooled by absorbing phonons when electrons tunnel through the double quantum dot. We identify the regimes in which ground-state cooling can be achieved for realistic experimental parameters.

Scattering-induced entanglement between spin qubits at remote two-state structures

A theoretical scheme is presented for the entanglement of two-electron spin qubits bound in series within a quasi-one-dimensional mesoscopic structure at a distance beyond their normal range of interaction. A third electron is scattered from them, and full entanglement is achieved upon measurement of a transmitted electron in the correct spin state. Critically, each bound electron is trapped within an individual structure that has at least two spatial states. Two simple examples of such structures are discussed here. One is a 'stub', in which a quantum dot (for example) is coupled to one side of the quasi-one-dimensional structure. The other is a pair of degenerate, coupled quantum dots, with strong interdot Coulomb repulsion, placed within the one-dimensional superstructure. Both of these are shown to allow generation of entanglement with a significant probability of success. In contrast to the results of the authors' previous works, this allows for the generation of entanglement in a series, rather than in a parallel, configuration of the bound electrons with respect to the propagating electron.

Defects induced on chemical vapour deposition carbon nanotubes during peapod synthesis on substrates

Individual carbon nanotubes are filled with fullerene molecules directly on the substrate. Two different oxidation techniques for opening the tubes prior to the filling, annealing in air, and acid treatment, are compared. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy images indicate that both methods induce defects on the sidewalls of the nanotubes. In the case of acid treatment, the inner walls can be damaged without affecting the outer walls, while the inner walls are opened along with the outer ones by heating in air. The effect of acid treatment on the tubes is much stronger than known from bulk samples. In contrast to previous studies, we find amorphous carbon inside the nanotubes after oxidation, and an additional high-temperature annealing step is needed to remove these plugs in order to open the tubes for filling.

Real time electron tunneling and pulse spectroscopy in carbon nanotube quantum dots

We investigate a quantum dot (QD) in a carbon nanotube (CNT) in the regime where the QD is nearly isolated from the leads. An aluminum single electron transistor (SET) serves as a charge detector for the QD. We precisely measure and tune the tunnel rates into the QD in the range between 1 kHz and 1 Hz, using both pulse spectroscopy and real-time charge detection, and measure the excitation spectrum of the isolated QD.

A triple quantum dot in a single-wall carbon nanotube

A top-gated single-wall carbon nanotube is used to define three coupled quantum dots in series between two electrodes. The additional electron number on each quantum dot is controlled by top-gate voltages allowing for current measurements of single, double, and triple quantum dot stability diagrams. Simulations using a capacitor model including tunnel coupling between neighboring dots captures the observed behavior with good agreement. Furthermore, anticrossings between indirectly coupled levels and higher order cotunneling are discussed.

A Ge/Si heterostructure nanowire-based double quantum dot with integrated charge sensor

One proposal for a solid-state-based quantum bit (qubit) is to control coupled electron spins on adjacent semiconductor quantum dots. Most experiments have focused on quantum dots made from III-V semiconductors; however, the coherence of electron spins in these materials is limited by hyperfine interactions with nuclear spins. Ge/Si core/shell nanowires seem ideally suited to overcome this limitation, because the most abundant nuclei in Ge and Si have spin zero and the nanowires can be chemically synthesized defect-free with tunable properties. Here, we present a double quantum dot based on Ge/Si nanowires in which we can completely control the coupling between the dots and to the leads. We also demonstrate that charge on the double dot can be detected by coupling it capacitively to an adjacent nanowire quantum dot. The double quantum dot and integrated charge sensor serve as an essential building block to form a solid-state qubit free of nuclear spin.

Few electron double quantum dots in InAs/InP nanowire heterostructures

We report on fabrication of double quantum dots in catalytically grown InAs/InP nanowire heterostructures. In the few-electron regime, starting with both dots empty, our low-temperature transport measurements reveal a clear shell structure for sequential charging of the larger of the two dots with up to 12 electrons. The resonant current through the double dot is found to depend on the orbital coupling between states of different radial symmetry. The charging energies are well described by a capacitance model if next-neighbor capacitances are taken into account.

Excited state spectroscopy in carbon nanotube double quantum dots

We report on low-temperature measurements in a fully tunable carbon nanotube double quantum dot. A new fabrication technique has been used for the top-gates in order to avoid covering the whole nanotube with an oxide layer as in previous experiments. The top-gates allow us to form single dots and control the coupling between them, and we observe 4-fold shell filling. We perform inelastic transport spectroscopy via the excited states in the double quantum dot, a necessary step toward the implementation of new microwave-based experiments.