Quantum fluctuations and coherence in high-precision single-electron capture

Interaction Effects and Charge Quantization in Single-Particle Quantum Dot Emitters

We discuss a theoretical model of an on-demand single-particle emitter that employs a quantum dot, attached to an integer or fractional quantum Hall edge state. Via an exact mapping of the model onto the spin-boson problem we show that Coulomb interactions between the dot and the chiral quantum Hall edge state, unavoidable in this setting, lead to a destruction of precise charge quantization in the emitted wave packet. Our findings cast doubt on the viability of this setup as a single-particle source of quantized charge pulses. We further show how to use a spin-boson master equation approach to explicitly calculate the current pulse shape in this setup.

High-accuracy current generation in the nanoampere regime from a silicon single-trap electron pump

A gigahertz single-electron (SE) pump with a semiconductor charge island is promising for a future quantum current standard. However, high-accuracy current in the nanoampere regime is still difficult to achieve because the performance of SE pumps tends to degrade significantly at frequencies exceeding 1 GHz. Here, we demonstrate robust SE pumping via a single-trap level in silicon up to 7.4 GHz, at which the pumping current exceeds 1 nA. An accuracy test with an uncertainty of about one part per million (ppm) reveals that the pumping current deviates from the ideal value by only about 20 ppm at the flattest part of the current plateau. This value is two orders of magnitude better than the best one reported in the nanoampere regime. In addition, the pumping accuracy is almost unchanged up to 7.4 GHz, probably due to strong electron confinement in the trap. These results indicate that trap-mediated SE pumping is promising for achieving the practical operation of the quantum current standard.

Landau-Zener-Stueckelberg Physics with a Singular Continuum of States

This Letter addresses the dynamical quantum problem of a driven discrete energy level coupled to a semi-infinite continuum whose density of states has a square-root-type singularity, such as states of a free particle in one dimension or quasiparticle states in a BCS superconductor. The system dynamics is strongly affected by the quantum-mechanical repulsion between the discrete level and the singularity, which gives rise to a bound state, suppresses the decay into the continuum, and can produce Stueckelberg oscillations. This quantum coherence effect may limit the performance of mesoscopic superconducting devices, such as the quantum electron turnstile.

Ultrafast Emission and Detection of a Single-Electron Gaussian Wave Packet: A Theoretical Study

Generating and detecting a prescribed single-electron state is an important step towards solid-state fermion optics. We propose how to generate an electron in a Gaussian state, using a quantum-dot pump with gigahertz operation and realistic parameters. With the help of a strong magnetic field, the electron occupies a coherent state in the pump, insensitive to the details of nonadiabatic evolution. The state changes during the emission from the pump, governed by competition between the Landauer-Buttiker traversal time and the passage time. When the former is much shorter than the latter, the emitted state is a Gaussian wave packet. The Gaussian packet can be identified by using a dynamical potential barrier, with a resolution reaching the Heisenberg minimal uncertainty ℏ/2.

Non-adiabatic quantized charge pumping with tunable-barrier quantum dots: a review of current progress

Precise manipulation of individual charge carriers in nanoelectronic circuits underpins practical applications of their most basic quantum property--the universality and invariance of the elementary charge. A charge pump generates a net current from periodic external modulation of parameters controlling a nanostructure connected to source and drain leads; in the regime of quantized pumping the current varies in steps of [Formula: see text] as function of control parameters, where [Formula: see text] is the electron charge and f is the frequency of modulation. In recent years, robust and accurate quantized charge pumps have been developed based on semiconductor quantum dots with tunable tunnel barriers. These devices allow modulation of charge exchange rates between the dot and the leads over many orders of magnitude and enable trapping of a precise number of electrons far away from equilibrium with the leads. The corresponding non-adiabatic pumping protocols focus on understanding of separate parts of the pumping cycle associated with charge loading, capture and release. In this report we review realizations, models and metrology applications of quantized charge pumps based on tunable-barrier quantum dots.

Ultrastable low-noise current amplifier: a novel device for measuring small electric currents with high accuracy

An ultrastable low-noise current amplifier (ULCA) is presented. The ULCA is a non-cryogenic instrument based on specially designed operational amplifiers and resistor networks. It involves two stages, the first providing a 1000-fold current gain and the second performing a current-to-voltage conversion via an internal 1 MΩ reference resistor or, optionally, an external standard resistor. The ULCA's transfer coefficient is highly stable versus time, temperature, and current amplitude within the full dynamic range of ±5 nA. The low noise level of 2.4 fA/√Hz helps to keep averaging times short at small input currents. A cryogenic current comparator is used to calibrate both input current gain and output transresistance, providing traceability to the quantum Hall effect. Within one week after calibration, the uncertainty contribution from short-term fluctuations and drift of the transresistance is about 0.1 parts per million (ppm). The long-term drift is typically 5 ppm/yr. A high-accuracy variant is available that shows improved stability of the input gain at the expense of a higher noise level of 7.5 fA/√Hz. The ULCA also allows the traceable generation of small electric currents or the calibration of high-ohmic resistors.

Counting statistics for electron capture in a dynamic quantum dot

We report noninvasive single-charge detection of the full probability distribution P(n) of the initialization of a quantum dot with n electrons for rapid decoupling from an electron reservoir. We analyze the data in the context of a model for sequential tunneling pinch-off, which has generic solutions corresponding to two opposing mechanisms. One limit considers sequential "freeze-out" of an adiabatically evolving grand canonical distribution, the other one is an athermal limit equivalent to the solution of a generalized decay cascade model. We identify the athermal capturing mechanism in our sample, testifying to the high precision of our combined theoretical and experimental methods. The distinction between the capturing mechanisms allows us to derive efficient experimental strategies for improving the initialization.