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arXiv:cond-mat/0308218 · Physical Review B

Numerical analysis of radio-frequency single-electron transistor operation

Valentin Olegovich Turin, Alexander N. Korotkov

Published May 21, 2004• 11 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We have analyzed numerically the response and noise-limited charge sensitivity of a radio-frequency single-electron transistor (RF-SET) in a nonsuperconducting state using the orthodox theory. In particular, we have studied the performance dependence on the quality factor Q of the tank circuit for Q both below and above the value corresponding to the impedance matching between the coaxial cable and SET.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.69.195310

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We have analyzed numerically the response and noise-limited charge sensitivity of a radio-frequency single-electron transistor (RF-SET) in a nonsuperconducting state using the orthodox theory. In particular, we have studied the performance dependence on the quality factor Q of the tank circuit for Q both below and above the value corresponding to the impedance matching between the coaxial cable and SET.
We have fabricated an aluminum single-electron transistor and characterized it at frequencies up to 10 MHz by measuring the reflected signal from a resonant tank in which the transistor is embedded. We measured the charge sensitivity of this radio-frequency single-electron transistor to be 3.2×10−6 e/Hz, which corresponds to the uncoupled energy sensitivity of 4.8 ℏ. Our measurements indicate that with further improvements, the radio-frequency single-electron transistor could reach the shot-noise limit estimated to be about 1 ℏ.
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 have investigated the effects of quantum fluctuations of quasiparticles on the operation of superconducting radio-frequency single-electron transistors (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, subgap rf-SET operation is still feasible despite quantum fluctuations that wash out quasiparticle tunneling thresholds. Surprisingly, 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.
We present results on a double-island single-electron transistor (DISET) operated at radio frequency (rf) for the fast and highly sensitive detection of charge motion in the solid state. Using an intuitive definition for the charge sensitivity, we compare a DISET to a conventional single-electron transistor (SET). We find that a DISET can be more sensitive than a SET for identical, minimum device resistances in the Coulomb blockade regime. This is of particular importance for rf operation, where ideal impedance matching to 50-Ω transmission lines is only possible for a limited range of device resistances. We report a charge sensitivity of 5.6×10−6e∕Hz for a rf-DISET, together with a demonstration of the single-shot detection of small (⩽0.1e) charge signals on microsecond time scales.
In this letter, the authors describe operation of a radio-frequency superconducting single electron transistor (rf-SSET) with an on-chip superconducting LC matching network consisting of a spiral inductor L and its capacitance to ground Cp. The superconducting network has a lower Cp and gives a better matching for the rf-SSET than does a commercial chip inductor. Moreover, the superconducting network has negligibly low dissipation, leading to sensitive response to changes in the rf-SSET impedance. The charge sensitivity δq=2.4×10−6e∕Hz in the subgap region and energy sensitivity δε=1.9ℏ indicate that the rf-SSET is operating in the vicinity of the shot noise limit.