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

We report on an experimental investigation of the direct current induced by transmitting a surface acoustic wave (SAW) with frequency 2.7 GHz through a quasi-one-dimensional (1D) channel defined in a GaAs - AlGaAs heterostructure by a split gate, when the SAW wavelength was approximately equal to the channel length. At low SAW power levels the current reveals oscillatory behaviour as a function of the gate voltage with maxima between the plateaux of quantized 1D conductance. At high SAW power levels, an acoustoelectric current was observed at gate voltages beyond pinch-off. In this region the current displays a step-like behaviour as a function of the gate voltage (or of the SAW power) with the magnitude corresponding to the transfer of one electron per SAW cycle. We interpret this as due to trapping of electrons in the moving SAW-induced potential minima with the number of electrons in each minimum being controlled by the electron - electron interactions. As the number of electrons is reduced, the classical Coulomb charging energy becomes the Mott - Hubbard gap between two electrons and finally the system becomes a sliding Mott insulator with one electron in each well.     

准一维电子通道中声电电流的理论计算

表面声波在GaAs/Al _x Ga_1-x As异质结表面上沿由分裂门产生的准一维电子通道方向传 播时，在通道中诱导产生声电电流.采用WKB近似，计算了只有一个电子被量子阱俘获时的声电电流；并在此基础上，详细讨论了表面声波的频率和功率，以及门电压和源漏偏压对声电电流的影响. 关键词： 表面声波 准一维电子通道 量子阱 声电电流     

Pumping of single electrons with a traveling wave

We describe the operation and performance of a one-dimensional chain of small metallic islands whose potentials are modulated in a wave-like manner. The sinusoidal voltages, applied to the gate electrodes, carry individual charges coherently through the array. In practice, the wave-like potential is induced on the gates by a surface acoustic wave (SAW) traveling on a piezoelectric substrate. The resulting transfer of charges should produce a DC current I = ± ef through the chain, where f is the frequency of the wave and the sign ofthe current depends on the value of the common DC bias of the islands as well as on the direction of the wave propagation. We observe, however, a much smaller current than expected and investigate the factors affecting the fundamental relation between the current and frequency. We demonstrate that the most harmful factor in practice is an uncompensated background charge of random nature, which usually exists in substrates and oxide barriers.     

Surface-acoustic-wave-induced space-charge waves in electron-hole systems

Space-charge waves in an electron-hole system are studied, which are excited by a moving grating provided by a surface acoustic wave (SAW). The SAW induces a constant current that may change its sign, when a constant electric field is applied opposite to the wave propagation direction. Current resonances are predicted to appear, when the SAW wavelength and frequency match the ones of the space-charge wave.     

Surface acoustic wave controlled charge dynamics in a thin InGaAs quantum well

We experimentally study the optical emission of a thin quantum well and its dynamic modulation by a surface acoustic wave (SAW). We observe a characteristic transition of the modulation from one maximum to two maxima per SAW cycle as the acoustic power is increased which we find in good agreement with numerical calculations of the SAW controlled carrier dynamics. At low acoustic powers the carrier mobilities limit electron-hole pair dissociation, whereas at high power levels the induced electric fields give rise to efficient acousto-electric carrier transport. The direct comparison between the experimental data and the numerical simulations provide an absolute calibration of the local SAW phase.     

Driven state transfer and state storage in a tight-binding chain using two local barriers

A theoretical scheme to realize quantum state transfer and state storage in a uniformly coupled tight-binding chain is introduced in this paper. Two controllable gate voltages acting as local barriers are applied onto specific sites of the system, which separate the chain into three regions. By setting two gate voltages being equal, we show that an initially localized quantum wave packet undergoes perfect periodic revivals, allowing for perfect quantum state transfer between two nonadjacent spatial regions of the system. We also show that the wave packet can be trapped in its initial region by setting two gate voltages being unequal, which relates to the problem of storing quantum information. Moreover an efficient time-dependent quantum state transfer protocol is presented by smoothly varying the two gate voltages. Significantly, in our setup, the transferred state can be trapped, with a high fidelity of storage, at the end of the transfer protocol.     

Two-stage Kondo effect in a quantum dot at a high magnetic field

We report a strong Kondo effect (Kondo temperature approximately 4 K) at high magnetic field in a selective area growth semiconductor quantum dot. The Kondo effect is ascribed to a singlet-triplet transition in the ground state of the dot. At the transition, the low-temperature conductance approaches the unitary limit. Away from the transition, for low bias voltages and temperatures, the conductance is sharply reduced. The observed behavior is compared to predictions for a two-stage Kondo effect in quantum dots coupled to single-channel leads.     

Photon-assisted Shot noise of the double quantum dot interferometer in weak Kondo regime

The shot noise of a parallel double quantum dot (DQD) system under the perturbation of microwave fields is investigated in the weak Kondo regime. Peak-valley structures exhibit in the differential conductance and shot noise, and side resonant peaks emerge around the Kondo peak due to the absorption and emission of photons. The shot noise is sensitively dependent on the adjusting approach through changing the gate voltages. Large resonant Fano factor accompanying photon-induced side peaks appear by simultaneously varying the two gate voltages. The photon suppression and enhancement of shot noise have been evaluated corresponding to the coherent and incoherent current correlation. The destructive interference causes the suppression of shot noise by changing the Aharonov–Bohm phase.     

Coulomb blockade in molecular quantum dots

The rate-equation approach is used to describe sequential tunneling through a molecular junction in the Coulomb blockade regime. Such device is composed of molecular quantum dot (with discrete energy levels) coupled with two metallic electrodes via potential barriers. Based on this model, we calculate nonlinear transport characteristics (conductance-voltage and current-voltage dependences) and compare them with the results obtained within a self-consistent field approach. It is shown that the shape of transport characteristics is determined by the combined effect of the electronic structure of molecular quantum dots and by the Coulomb blockade. In particular, the following phenomena are discussed in detail: the suppression of the current at higher voltages, the charging-induced rectification effect, the charging-generated changes of conductance gap and the temperature-induced as well as broadening-generated smoothing of current steps.     

Anisotropic effects in surface acoustic wave propagation from a point source in a crystal

Strong anisotropic effects in the propagation of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) from a point-like source are studied experimentally and theoretically. Nanosecond SAW pulses are generated by focused laser pulses and detected with a cw probe laser beam at a large distance from the source compared to the SAW wavelength, which allows us to resolve fine intricate features in SAW wavefronts. In our theoretical model, we represent the laser excitation by a localized impulsive force acting on the sample surface and calculate the far-field surface response of an elastically anisotropic solid to such a force. The model simulates the measured SAW waveforms very well and accounts for all experimentally observed features. Using the data obtained for the (111) and (001) surfaces of GaAs, we describe a variety of effects encountered in the SAW propagation from a point source in crystals. The most interesting phenomenon is the existence of cuspidal structures in SAW wavefronts resulting in multiple SAW arrivals for certain ranges of the observation angle. Cuspidal edges correspond to the phonon focusing directions yielding sharp peaks in the SAW amplitude. A finite SAW wavelength results in internal diffraction whereby the SAW wavefront spreads beyond the group velocity cusps. Degeneration of a SAW into a transverse bulk wave is another strong effect influencing the anisotropy of the SAW amplitude and making whole sections of the SAW wavefront including some phonon focusing directions unobservable in the experiment. The propagation of a leaky SAW mode (pseudo-SAW) is affected by a specific additional effect i.e. anisotropic attenuation. We also demonstrate that many of the discussed features are reproduced in powder patterns, a simple technique developed by us earlier for visualization of SAW amplitude anisotropy.Received: 17 June 2003, Published online: 15 October 2003PACS: 43.35.+d Ultrasonics, quantum acoustics, and physical effects of sound - 68.35.Gy Mechanical properties; surface strains - 62.65.+k Acoustical properties of solidsA.M. Lomonosov: On leave from the General Physics Institute, 117942 Moscow, Russia     

Surface and quasi-longitudinal acoustic waves in KTiOAsO4 single crystals

Surface and quasi-longitudinal acoustic wave properties have been investigated in potassium titanyl arsenate (KTiOAsO₄, KTA) single crystals for the first time. Surface acoustic wave (SAW) velocity, electromechanical coupling coefficient and power flow angle characteristics have been obtained in rotated Y-cut of KTA crystals. High SAW electromechanical coupling coefficient (0.4%) is found in Z-cut of KTA crystals. For high-frequency devices it is promising the resonators on quasi-longitudinal acoustic wave in X-cut of KTA crystals with sharp response in interdigital transducer conductance at resonance frequency.     

Simulation of Birefringence and Absorption in InGaAs-GaAs Multiple Quantum Well Acoustooptic Modulators Operating Near 980 nm

This paper presents the simulation of surface acoustic wave (SAW)-induced absorption coefficient and refractive index change in InGaAs-GaAs multiple quantum well (MQW) structures operating near 980 nm. The exciton problem is solved in two dimensional momentum space to include the non-axial effect due to strain induced valance band mixing and nonparabolicity. The optical absorption coefficient and refractive index changes near the band gap in the MQWs are calculated as a function of SAW power.     

Enhancement of the nonlinear acoustoelectric interaction in a photoexcited plasma in a quantum well

Nonlinear interaction of an intense surface acoustic wave (SAW) with a 2D electron-hole plasma generated by light in a semiconductor quantum well near a piezoelectric crystal is investigated. It is shown that, in a strongly nonlinear regime, the acoustoelectric interaction is enhanced because of the accumulation of carriers in the field of an intense SAW. In addition, in a strongly nonlinear regime, the dissipation of the acoustic wave energy increases and the sound velocity decreases. These dependences fundamentally differ from those observed in a unipolar plasma. For high sound intensities, analytical results are obtained.     

Photon-Assisted Conductance Structure for a Quantum Dot

We investigate theoretically the electron transport of a two-level quantum dot irradiated under a weak laser field at low temperatures in the rotating wave approximation. Using the method of the Keldysh equation of motion for nonequilibrium Green function, we examine the conductance for the system with photon polarization perpendicular to the tunnelling current direction. It is demonstrated that by analytic analysing and numerical examples, a feature of conductance peak splitting appears, and the dependence of conductance on the incident laser frequency and self-energy are discussed.     

Adiabatic charge pumping in carbon nanotube quantum dots

We investigate charge pumping in carbon nanotube quantum dots driven by the electric field of a surface acoustic wave. We find that, at small driving amplitudes, the pumped current reverses polarity as the conductance is tuned through a Coulomb blockade peak using a gate electrode. We study the behavior as a function of wave amplitude, frequency, and direction and develop a model in which our results can be understood as resulting from adiabatic charge redistribution between the leads and quantum dots on the nanotube.     

Surface acoustic-wave-induced magnetoresistance oscillations in a two-dimensional electron gas

We study the geometrical commensurability oscillations imposed on the resistivity of 2D electrons in a perpendicular magnetic field by a propagating surface acoustic wave (SAW). We show that, for omega相似文献   

Acoustically induced potential dots in GaAs quantum wells

Dynamic dots (DDs) consisting of confined and mobile potentials are realized by the interference of orthogonal surface acoustic wave (SAW) beams in GaAs quantum wells. Photoluminescence spectroscopy reveals that the DDs are characterized by a peculiar distribution of strain and piezoelectric fields dictated by the lattice symmetry, which is quite different from the one induced by a single SAW. We demonstrate the unique ability of DDs to control the flow of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and of photons by realizing an electronic switch based on SAWs.     

Interacting quantum wires: A possible explanation for the 0.7 anomalous conductance

We investigate an effective one-dimensional conducting channel considering both the contact umklapp and the Coulomb electron-electron interaction. We show that, at low electronic density, the proximity to the Wigner crystal reproduces the anomaly in conductance at 0.7G₀. The crucial ingredient of our theory is the fact that the gate voltage acts as a bias controlling the intensity of the umklapp term. At large gate voltages, the umklapp vanishes and we obtain a conducting quantum wire with a perfect conductance. At low gate voltages, the Wigner crystal is pinned by the umklapp term, giving rise to an insulating behavior with vanishing conductance. This crossover pattern has a transition point which can be identified with the anomalous conductance around 0.7G₀. This picture is obtained within the framework of a renormalization group calculation. The conductance static regime is achieved by taking first the limit of finite length and then the limit of zero frequency.     

新型声表面波电流传感器*

将声表面波技术的快速响应特点与磁致伸缩薄膜的高磁敏特点相结合,可实现一种快速、高灵敏、稳定可靠的新型电流检测技术。传感器由双通道差分式振荡器与沉积在传感通道器件表面的声传播路径上的磁致伸缩薄膜组成。该文基于分层介质中声传播理论及磁致伸缩效应,对声表面波电流传感机理进行了分析,以实现对传感器结构的优化设计。实验研制了采用铁钴(FeCo)薄膜的声表面波电流传感器,测试结果表明,该传感器具有快速响应和高灵敏特点。为抑制磁致伸缩薄膜自身的剩磁效应所带来的高磁滞误差,采用的有效途径是将沉积的磁致伸缩薄膜进行图形化设计。实验结果表明,采用栅阵化FeCo薄膜结构的传感器表现出更高检测灵敏度、更好线性及更低的磁滞误差。