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Double quantum dot coupled to a radio-frequency single-electron transistor: Quantum measurement and back action

Madhu Thalakulam

Published Jan 1, 2004• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

The radio-frequency superconducting single electron transistor (RF-SET) is a highly sensitive and fast electrometer operating near the quantum limit. The back-action current noise of the SET induces voltage fluctuations on the system it is coupled to, dephasing its charge states. Here we propose to study the back action of the RF-SET by means of a double quantum dot (DQD) and, an RF-SET electrostatically coupled to one of the two dots. The inelastic current through the DQD is very sensitive to the spectral density of the voltage fluctuations in the nearby environment. By properly choosing the dot size and inter-dot tunnel barrier thickness, one can cause inelastic process to dominate the transport processes. A measurement of the inelastic current through the double dot system can then be used to calculate the spectral density of noise associated with the RF-SET and hence its back action. The design, fabrication and characterization of an RF-SET/DQD system is discussed in this work. Real-time studies of electron dynamics in coupled dots are also addressed.

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Development and study of charge sensors for fast charge detection in quantum dots

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Real-time electron counting studies on charge fluctuations in a semiconductor quantum dot (Invited Paper)

Wei Dong Lu

We present time-domain electron counting studies on charge fluctuations in a mesoscopic system. In this measurement, a radio-frequency single-electron transistor (RF-SET) acting as a fast electrometer is capacitively coupled to a quantum dot (QD) electrostatically defined in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. Random telegraph signals (RTSs) were observed on the RF-SET and were interpreted as resulting from individual electrons tunneling into/out of the QD hence switching the QD charge state between N and N+1 electrons near the charge degeneracy point. Periodic behavior of the switching events is observed as the number of average electrons in the electron box is decreased one by one. The occupation time of the excess electron is directly measured and changes from a few microseconds to a few milliseconds as the tunneling resistance of the QD is increased. Histogram of the occupation time obtained from the time-domain electron counting measurements agrees well with the frequency-domain power spectrum analysis, both suggesting a Poissonian process at the charge degenerate point, in agreement with a model consisting of two charge states. Real time electron counting techniques can play a powerful role in studies on temporal electronic correlations, as well as quantum information processing schemes. Techniques that will improve the charge sensitivity of the RF-SET will also be discussed.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•May 23, 2005•0 citations
The radio-frequency superconducting single electron transistor (RF-SET) is a highly sensitive and fast electrometer operating near the quantum limit. The back-action current noise of the SET induces voltage fluctuations on the system it is coupled to, dephasing its charge states. Here we propose to study the back action of the RF-SET by means of a double quantum dot (DQD) and, an RF-SET electrostatically coupled to one of the two dots. The inelastic current through the DQD is very sensitive to the spectral density of the voltage fluctuations in the nearby environment. By properly choosing the dot size and inter-dot tunnel barrier thickness, one can cause inelastic process to dominate the transport processes. A measurement of the inelastic current through the double dot system can then be used to calculate the spectral density of noise associated with the RF-SET and hence its back action. The design, fabrication and characterization of an RF-SET/DQD system is discussed in this work. Real-time studies of electron dynamics in coupled dots are also addressed.
Charge detection at microsecond time-scales has far reaching consequences in both technology and in our understanding of electron dynamics in nanoscale devices such as quantum dots. Radio-frequency superconducting single electron transistors (RF-SET) and quantum point contacts (QPC) are ultra sensitive charge sensors operating near the quantum limit. The operation of RF-SETs outside the superconducting gap has been a topic of study; the sub-gap operation, especially in the presence of large quantum fluctuations of quasiparticles remains largely unexplored, both theoretically and experimentally. We have investigated the effects of quantum fluctuations of quasiparticles on the operation of RF-SETs for large values of the quasiparticle cotunneling parameter alpha = 8EJ/Ec, where EJ and Ec are the Josephson and charging energies. We find that, for alpha > 1, sub-gap RF-SET operation is still feasible despite quantum fluctuations that wash out quasiparticle tunneling thresholds. Such RF-SETs show linearity and signal-to-noise ratio superior to those obtained when quantum fluctuations are weak, while still demonstrating excellent charge sensitivity.\nWe have operated a QPC charge detector in a radio frequency mode that allows fast charge detection in a bandwidth of several megahertz. The noise limiting the sensitivity of the charge detector is not the noise of a secondary amplifier, but the non-equilibrium device noise of the QPC itself. The noise power averaged over a measurement bandwidth of about 10MHz around the carrier frequency is in agreement with the theory of photon-assisted shot noise. Frequency-resolved measurements, however show several significant discrepancies with the theoretical predictions. The measurement techniques developed can also be used to investigate the noise of other semiconductor nanostructures such as quantum dots in the Kondo regime.\nA study of the noise characteristics alone can not determine whether the device is operating at the quantum limit; a characterization of back action is also necessary. The inelastic current through a double quantum dot system (DQD) is sensitive to the spectral density of voltage fluctuations in its electromagnetic environment. Electrical transport studies on a DQD system electrostatically coupled to an SET shows qualitative evidence of back-action of SET. The design and fabrication of a few electron DQD device with integrated RF-SET and QPC charge sensors for the study of back action of the sensors and real-time electron dynamics in the DQD are also discussed.
By coupling a radio-frequency single-electron transistor (RF-SET) to a quantum dot (QD) in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure, we have succeeded in detecting the tunneling of individual electrons on and off the QD on time scales as short as one microsecond. Using charge detection to probe the state of the QD allows us to nearly isolate the dot from its leads, thereby minimizing decoherence-inducing effects of the environment. We have extended these charge detection techniques to double quantum dots (DQDs) that can simultaneously be used to characterize the backaction of the RF-SET. The combined RF-SET/DQD system is well-suited to the development of charge- or spin-based quantum bits, and to investigation of the quantum measurement problem.
The Single Electron Transistor (SET), especially its variation the radio frequency single electron transistor (RF-SET), is a fast and ultra-sensitive electrometer working in the vicinity of the quantum limit. In this thesis, the theory and techniques related to the SET in the normal state and the superconducting state are introduced The thesis focuses especially on our efforts of improving the sensitivity of superconducting RF-SET, including: the design and fabrication of an all superconducting near loss-less matching network for improving the RF modulation, our early investigation of the sensitivity and linearity of a superconducting SET (S-SET) subject to quantum fluctuations of quasiparticles and Cooper pairs under different tunneling mechanisms, and our recent work approaching the quantum sensitivity limit using a double Josephson quasiparticle (DJQP) cycle of a S-SET. Using an effective bath description, we have found that the S-SET provides damping of the resonator modes proportional to its differential conductance, and has an effective temperature that can be well below both the ambient temperature and the energy scale of the bias voltage. In the region of negative differential conductance (NDC), the S-SET shows negative damping and a negative temperature. In the final part of the thesis, I have demonstrated our first application of an RF-SET for real-time detection of electron tunneling through a quantum dot.
This thesis will discuss the principles, techniques and applications of the Radio Frequency Single Electron Transistor (RF-SET). In the first part, the operating principles of Single Electron Transistors (SETS) in the normal and superconducting states will be introduced. The general techniques of fabricating and calibrating SETs will also be introduced. In the second part, two of our recent experiments are reviewed. One is related to the sensitivity and linearity of superconducting RF-SETs. We found that the RF-SET achieves the best balance of charge sensitivity and linearity in the subgap regime, as opposed to the usual preferred working point in the above-gap regime. The second experiment relates to the real-time counting of single electrons. We demonstrated that the RF-SET can be used as a fast and ultra-sensitive electrometer which can even detect tunneling of a single electron inside a tunable quantum dot (QD) formed in a two dimensional electron gas (2DEG).
A new type of electrometer is described that uses a single-electron transistor (SET) and that allows large operating speeds and extremely high charge sensitivity. The SET readout was accomplished by measuring the damping of a 1.7-gigahertz resonant circuit in which the device is embedded, and in some ways is the electrostatic "dual" of the well-known radio-frequency superconducting quantum interference device. The device is more than two orders of magnitude faster than previous single-electron devices, with a constant gain from dc to greater than 100 megahertz. For a still-unoptimized device, a charge sensitivity of 1.2 x 10(-5) e/hertz was obtained at a frequency of 1.1 megahertz, which is about an order of magnitude better than a typical, 1/f-noise-limited SET, and corresponds to an energy sensitivity (in joules per hertz) of about 41 Planck's over 2pi.
We present time-domain electron counting studies on charge fluctuations in a mesoscopic system. In this measurement, a radio-frequency single-electron transistor (RF-SET) acting as a fast electrometer is capacitively coupled to a quantum dot (QD) electrostatically defined in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. Random telegraph signals (RTSs) were observed on the RF-SET and were interpreted as resulting from individual electrons tunneling into/out of the QD hence switching the QD charge state between N and N+1 electrons near the charge degeneracy point. Periodic behavior of the switching events is observed as the number of average electrons in the electron box is decreased one by one. The occupation time of the excess electron is directly measured and changes from a few microseconds to a few milliseconds as the tunneling resistance of the QD is increased. Histogram of the occupation time obtained from the time-domain electron counting measurements agrees well with the frequency-domain power spectrum analysis, both suggesting a Poissonian process at the charge degenerate point, in agreement with a model consisting of two charge states. Real time electron counting techniques can play a powerful role in studies on temporal electronic correlations, as well as quantum information processing schemes. Techniques that will improve the charge sensitivity of the RF-SET will also be discussed.