AC transport through a quantum dot: from Kondo to Coulomb-blockade behaviour

We analyze the conductance ( ) of a quantum dot (QD) in an AC potential at finite temperature. The Friedel–Langreth sum rule (FLSR) is generalized to include the effect of an AC potential and finite T. We have solved the Anderson Hamiltonian by means of a self-consistent procedure which fulfills the generalized FLSR. New features are found in the density of states (DOS) and in when an AC voltage is applied. Our model describes the effect of an AC potential on the transition from Kondo regime to a Coulomb-blockade behaviour as T increases.     

The excitation spectrum of quantum antidots

Source-drain bias measurements of transport across quantum antidots reveal a ladder of excited states analogous to the excitation spectrum of quantum dots. The antidot excitation spectrum provides an unambiguous method of determining the Coulomb-blockade charging energy and the energy difference between antidot single-particle states. The energy-level spacings and the presence of strong Kondo resonances in this regime cannot be explained within a non-interacting model.     

Quantum fluctuations and the Kondo effect in small quantum dots

We consider electron transport through quantum dots with large level spacing and charging energy. At low temperature and strong coupling to the leads, quantum fluctuations and the Kondo effect become important. They show up, e.g., as zero-bias anomalies in the current–voltage characteristics. We use a recently developed diagrammatic technique as well as a new real-time renormalization-group approach to describe charge and spin fluctuations. The latter gives rise to a Kondo-assisted enhancement of the current through the dot as seen in experiments.     

Single FIR-photon detection using a quantum dot

We study single-electron-transistor (SET) operation of the quantum dot (QD) in a strong magnetic field under weak illumination of far-infrared (FIR) radiation, which causes cyclotron resonance (CR) excitation inside the QD. We find that the SET conductance resonance is exceedingly sensitive to the FIR: It switches on (off) upon the excitation of just one electron to a higher Landau level inside the QD, whereby enabling us to detect individual events of FIR-photon (hν 6 meV) absorption.     

The effect of the interdot Coulomb interaction on Kondo resonances in series-coupled double quantum dots

We theoretically investigate the effect of the interdot Coulomb repulsion on Kondo resonances in the series-coupled double quantum dot coupled to two ferromagnetic leads. The Hamiltonian of our system is solved by means of the slave-boson mean-field approximation, and the variation of the density of states, the transmission probability, the occupation number, and the Kondo temperature with the interdot Coulomb repulsion are discussed in the Kondo regime. The density of states is calculated for various interdot Coulomb repulsions with both parallel and antiparallel lead-polarization alignments. Our results reveal that the interdot Coulomb repulsion greatly influences the physical property of this system, and relevant underlying physics of this system is discussed.     

The Schrieffer-Wolff transformation for the underscreened Anderson lattice

We present a derivation of the Schrieffer-Wolff transformation for the Anderson Lattice Hamiltonian with a two-fold degenerate f-level in each site. The degeneracy of the f-electrons has been taken into account in order to describe uranium and other actinide magnetic compounds with a spin larger than , for example a total S=1 spin for the f-electrons. The transformed Hamiltonian has several terms as in the classical case, but we have obtained here both an exchange (Kondo) interaction between the S=1 f-spins and the spins of the conduction electrons, and also an effective f-band term. This f-band term describes better the underscreened Kondo lattice model which has been recently developed to explain the Kondo-ferromagnetism coexistence observed in uranium compounds such as UTe [N.B. Perkins, M.D. Nunez-Regueiro, J. R. Iglesias, B. Coqblin, Phys. Rev. B 76 (2007) 125101].     

Quantum Coherence Tunnelings: Multi-Kondo Peaks and Anomalous Coulomb Oscillations

On the basis of a multi-level Anderson-Wolff model, an electronic tunneling is studied nurnerically in the self-consistent field approximation. It is shown that in the intermediate coupling regime, conductance and magnetization could display universal fluctuations. Inparticular, new anomalous Coulomb oscillations assisted by the multi-Kondo peaks are predicted theoretically.     

Magnetocaloric effect in the ferromagnetic Kondo lattice model

The Kondo lattice model describes a lattice of localized spins S_i interacting with the conduction electrons via a local exchange coupling J. Assuming a ferromagnetic Hund's rule coupling J>0, the model can be used to describe some itinerant magnetocaloric materials such as Gd(Si_xGe_1-x)₄, La(Fe_1-xSi_x)₁₃, and LaCa_1-xMn_xO₃, which are important for magnetic refrigeration near room temperature. The localized magnetic moments are described in the model Hamiltonian by spin operators, and the conduction electrons by fermionic operators. To study the magnetocaloric effect, a uniform external magnetic field is added through a Zeeman term. By averaging the fermionic degrees of freedom, one obtains an indirect exchange coupling between spins at sites i and j, which corresponds to the RKKY interaction. The self-consistent mean value is evaluated in the effective Heisenberg Hamiltonian within the random phase approximation (RPA). The conduction electron magnetization for a given value of is obtained from the corresponding Green's functions through the equation of motion method. The pressure and doping dependence of the Curie temperature are taken into account in the evaluation of . The magnetocaloric effect is characterized by the isothermal entropy change ΔS and the adiabatic temperature change ΔT_ad upon magnetic field variations in the neighborhood of the ferromagnetic phase transition. The results are obtained for and compared to measurements with Gd compounds.     

基于库仑阻塞原理的多值存储器

设计了一种基于库仑阻塞原理的新型单电子多值存储器.器件包括两个多隧穿结结构和一个单电子晶体管,其中单电子晶体管起到一个静电计的作用来实现数据的读取.两个隧穿结库仑阻塞区域的大小不同使得器件具有三个稳定的存储状态.利用这个原理可以制备出多值的动态随机存储器和非挥发性的随机存储器.这种低功耗的单电子多值存储器可以实现信息的超高密度存储.关键词：库仑阻塞单电子晶体管     

Resistively coupled single-electron transistor using tunnel gate resistor

A resistively coupled single-electron transistor (R-SET) was fabricated using a modulation-doped heterostructure and metal Schottky gates, and measured at low temperature. Currents of R-SET with tunnel gate resistor were calculated using the orthodox theory. It is shown that the R-SET with tunnel gate resistor has quite similar properties to the originally proposed R-SET.     

单电子晶体管-金属氧化物半导体场效应晶体管多峰值负微分电阻器件

传统的共振隧穿二极管的多峰值负微分电阻器件的峰值数目受到限制,由单电子器件和传统的金属氧化物半导体场效应晶体管(MOSFET)器件组成的多峰值负微分电阻器件在原理上具有无穷多个峰值,并且MOSFET使单电子晶体管(SET)的峰值和谷值电流大小受其源漏电压的影响减小.利用这种多峰值负微分电阻器件实现了多值存储器,该存储器原理上是无穷多值的.并且利用它的折叠的I-V特性,实现了一个4位的Flash A/D转换器,与传统的Flash A/D转换器相比,SET-MOSFET的A/D转换器大大地简化了电路.关键词：库仑阻塞库仑振荡负微分电阻多值存储器     

Spinfluctuations versus phonons: The case of Heavy-Fermion superconductivity

Superconductivity of Heavy-Fermions, with an emphasis on hexagonal UPt₃, is investigated microscopically on the basis of the LNCA-approximation for strongly correlated electrons in a Kondo lattice and of Eliashberg theory for anisotropic singlet and triplet superconducting order. The effective interaction kernel incorporates exchange of spin fluctuations carried by strongly renormalized particle-hole excitations as well as exchange of phonons generated by the breathing mechanism. Particular care is taken to include realistic anisotropies in band structure and couplings and to expand interaction kernel and order parameter in appropriate Fermi surface harmonics. Separate interactions and corresponding gap equations are used for pseudo-spin-singlet and -triplet channel, with a restriction to the case of weak spin-orbit coupling. Our main results include a detailed study of phonon- and spin-fluctuation mechanisms as a possible source for superconductivity and, in combination, their mutual influence and competition. Furthermore, the questions regarding singlet or triplet order, conventional or unconventional symmetry, order parameter zeros and phase transitions between different superconducting states are addressed. We propose a possible scenario of Heavy-Fermion superconductivity.     

Symmetrical field effect and slow electron relaxation in granular aluminium

Conductivity and field effect measurements in thin insulating Al granular films are reported. The occurrence of a symmetrical field effect and of very slow conductance relaxations is demonstrated. They are identical to the electron glassy behaviours already reported in insulating indium oxide thin films. The results suggest that the phenomena are quite general. The study of structurally discontinuous samples should help to understand the origin and mechanism of the glassy behaviour. Received 4 December 2002 / Received in final form 26 February 2003 Published online 11 April 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: thierry.grenet@grenoble.cnrs.fr     

Simple and controlled fabrication of nanoscale gaps using double-angle evaporation

A simple and controlled method for fabricating nanometer-spaced electrodes is presented. This method uses electron-beam lithography followed by double-angle evaporation of thin metallic films. By simply changing the film thickness, one can adjust the separation of the electrodes. In this method, error is caused mainly by the granularity of the deposited metals. We have observed the Coulomb blockade effect of 20 nm Au colloidal particles captured in a gap fabricated using this method.