Investigations of backscattering peaks and of the nature of the confining potential in open quantum dots

The properties of open quantum dots are examined in magneto-transport. The quantum dots are prepared from a two-dimensional electron system (2DES) in AlGaAs/GaAs by lateral gate structures. These quantum dots are open, i.e. they are still connected to the surrounding 2DES regions. The low magnetic field magnetoresistance shows peak structures. These structures can be related to semi-classical ballistic trajectories in the confining potential of a dot. The calculations of different confining potentials (abrupt “hard-wall” and parabolic “soft-wall”) are compared with the experimental results. The experiments are better described by a soft-wall potential.     

Electron-spin and electron-orbital dependence of the tunnel coupling in laterally coupled double vertical dots

We employ a new laterally coupled, vertical double dot with a tunable tunnel-coupling gate in a parallel configuration to study the electron spin and orbital dependence of quantum mechanical tunnel coupling on the size of the honeycomb vertices in the small electron numbers regime. We find a transition from the weak coupling regime, where fluctuations in tunnel coupling due to varying electron configuration dominate the anticrossings, to a regime where the two dots coalesce. We apply a magnetic field to ascertain the orbital angular momenta of the Fermi surface eigenstates, which correlate with anticrossing size, and we identify spin pairs with congruent behavior.     

Electronic transport spectroscopy of carbon nanotubes in a magnetic field

We report magnetic field spectroscopy measurements in carbon nanotube quantum dots exhibiting fourfold shell structure in the energy level spectrum. The magnetic field induces a large splitting between the two orbital states of each shell, demonstrating their opposite magnetic moment and determining transitions in the spin and orbital configuration of the quantum dot ground state. We use inelastic cotunneling spectroscopy to accurately resolve the spin and orbital contributions to the magnetic moment. A small coupling is found between orbitals with opposite magnetic moment leading to anticrossing behavior at zero field.     

Single electron charging in parallel coupled quantum dots

We report low-temperature conductance measurements in the Coulomb blockade regime on two nominally identical tunnel-coupled quantum dots in parallel defined electrostatically in the two-dimensional electron gas of a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. At low interdot tunnel coupling we find that the conductance measured through one dot is sensitive to the charge state of the neighboring dot. At larger interdot coupling the conductance data reflect the role of quantum charge fluctuations between the dots. As the interdot conductance approaches 2e²/h, the coupled dots behave as a single large dot.     

Zeeman energy and spin relaxation in a one-electron quantum dot

We have measured the relaxation time, T1, of the spin of a single electron confined in a semiconductor quantum dot (a proposed quantum bit). In a magnetic field, applied parallel to the two-dimensional electron gas in which the quantum dot is defined, Zeeman splitting of the orbital states is directly observed by measurements of electron transport through the dot. By applying short voltage pulses, we can populate the excited spin state with one electron and monitor relaxation of the spin. We find a lower bound on T1 of 50 micros at 7.5 T, only limited by our signal-to-noise ratio. A continuous measurement of the charge on the dot has no observable effect on the spin relaxation.     

量子点器件的三端电测量研究

利用三端电测量方法，研究了调制掺杂二维电子气结构的量子点器件输运特性.报道了可分别测量二维电子气电阻和量子点隧穿电阻的实验方法.实验结果表明：量子点的横向耦合控制了量子点器件在小偏压下的电输运特性. 关键词： 自组装量子点 二维电子气 量子隧穿 肖特基接触     

Charge Reconfiguration in Isolated Quantum Dot Arrays

A high level of tunability and control over arrays of quantum dots are key ingredients toward the goal of scalable‐based qubit architectures. Increasing array size simultaneously increases the parameter space and therefore the tuning complexity. The electron reconfiguration behavior of quantum dot arrays isolated from the electron reservoirs is studied experimentally. Isolating a quantum dot array from the reservoirs does not only enable a high degree of control over the tunnel couplings but at the same time drastically simplifies the stability diagrams for small numbers of electrons trapped in the array. Experimental results on double, triple, and quadruple quantum dot arrays are presented and complementary model calculations allow the identification of all transitions observed in the experiment. Highly tunable long‐range transitions are observed in isolated triple quantum dots and evidence of higher‐order cotunneling is found for the quadruple quantum dot array.     

Photoluminescence of charged magneto-excitons in InAs single quantum dots

We calculated the photoluminescence spectra of charged magneto-excitons in single two-dimensional parabolic quantum dots, using an unrestricted Hartree–Fock method. The calculated luminescence spectra explain well the observed red shifts of transition energies of InAs/GaAs single quantum dot by additional electron capture in a dot. The magnetic-field-induced transition of the ground state configuration of trapped electrons causes drastic change in the photoluminescence spectra. The dependence of photoluminescence intensities of charged excitons on the excess energies of photogenerated carriers above the bulk GaAs energy gap is studied phenomenologically, by calculating the steady state electron population probability in a dot.     

Coherent photonic coupling of semiconductor quantum dots

We report a new type of coupling between quantum dot excitons mediated by the strong single-photon field in a high-finesse micropillar cavity. Coherent exciton coupling is observed for two dots with energy differences of the order of the exciton-photon coupling. The coherent coupling mode is characterized by an anticrossing with a particularly large line splitting of 250 microeV. Because of the different dispersion relations with temperature, the simultaneous photonic coupling of quantum dot excitons can be easily distinguished from cases of sequential strong coupling of two quantum dots.     

Magnetic field effect on the electronic states and the intraband optical absorption spectrum of a laser dressed double quantum dot molecule

The simultaneous effects of intense terahertz (THz) laser, a homogeneous magnetic fields, and the modification of the structural parameters on the electronic states, and the intraband optical absorption spectrum in a two-dimensional double quantum dot molecule are theoretically investigated. The crossing and anticrossing are observed in the energy dependence on the magnetic field induction between the third and the fourth energy levels. Additionally, it is shown that an intense THz laser field always shifts the energy spectrum to higher values. The variation of the structural parameters leads to the change of the positions of the energy levels and the anticrossing point. Finally, we have found that the intraband optical absorption spectrum, particularly the absorption intensity and the peak position, can be effectively regulated by an intense THz laser and a magnetic fields, as well as by the variation of the structural parameters of the double quantum dot molecule.     

Few-electron quantum dot fabricated with layered scanning force microscope lithography

Few-electron quantum dots with integrated charge read-out have been fabricated by layered local anodic oxidation of a Ga[Al]As heterostructure and a thin Titanium top gate. The additional set of gates provided by the metallic film is used to tune the quantum dots into the few-electron regime. Current through the quantum dots and the quantum dot charge have been simultaneously measured for electron numbers varying between zero and two. The singlet–triplet splitting varies in two different samples between 0.5 and 1.5 meV. The Zeeman splitting of the first conductance resonance is observed in parallel magnetic field. The high tunability and straightforward implementation of these structures are promising for future nanostructure design.     

Spin–orbit interaction induced current dip in a single quantum dot coupled to a spin

Experiments on semiconductor quantum dot systems have demonstrated the coupling between electron spins in quantum dots and spins localized in the neighboring area of the dots. Here we show that in a magnetic field the electrical current flowing through a single quantum dot tunnel-coupled to a spin displays a dip at the singlet–triplet anticrossing point which appears due to the spin–orbit interaction. We specify the requirements for which the current dip is formed and examine the properties of the dip for various system parameters, such as energy detuning, spin–orbit interaction strength, and coupling to leads. We suggest a parameter range in which the dip could be probed.     

Quantum coherence in quantum dot—Aharonov–Bohm ring hybrid systems

We investigate coherent transport through hybrid systems of quantum dots and Aharonov–Bohm (AB) rings. Strong coherence over the entire system leads to the Fano effect, which originates from the interference and the phase shift caused by the discrete states in the dots. The high controllability of the system parameters reveals that the Fano effect in mesoscopic transport can be a powerful tool for detecting the phase shift of electrons. We apply it to detect electrostatic phase modulation and the phase shift in a quantum wire with a side-coupled dot. Finally, we provide an experimental answer to the problem of “neighboring in-phase Coulomb peaks”.     

Microwave response of a ballistic quantum dot

The microwave response (photovoltage and photoconductance) of a lateral ballistic quantum dot made of a high-mobility two-dimensional electron gas in an AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction has been studied experimentally in the frequency range of 110–170 GHz. It has been found that the asymmetry of the photovoltage with respect to the sign of the magnetic field has mesoscopic character and depends on both the magnetic field and the microwave power. This indicates the violation of the Onsager reciprocity relations regarding the electron-electron interactions in the mesoscopic photovoltaic effect. A strong increase in the conductance of the quantum dot induced by the microwave radiation and unrelated to heating, as well as the microwave-induced magneto-oscillations, has been discovered.     

Phase coherent transmission through interacting mesoscopic systems

This is a review of the phase coherent transmission through interacting mesoscopic conductors. As a paradigm we study the transmission amplitude and the dephasing rate for electron transport through a quantum dot in the Coulomb blockade regime. We summarize experimental and theoretical work devoted to the phase of the transmission amplitude. It is shown that the evolution of the transmission phase may be dominated by non-universal features in the short-time dynamics of the quantum dot. The controlled dephasing in Coulomb-coupled conductors is investigated. Examples comprise a single or multiple quantum dots in close vicinity to a quantum point contact. The current through the quantum point contact “measures” the state of the dots and causes dephasing. The dephasing rate is derived using widely different theoretical approaches. The Coulomb coupling between mesoscopic conductors may prove useful for future work on electron coherence and quantum computing.     

Magneto-optical single dot spectroscopy of GaSb/GaAs type II quantum dots

We have investigated magneto-optical properties of GaSb/GaAs self-assemble type II quantum dots by single dot spectroscopy in magnetic field. We have observed clear Zeeman splitting and diamagnetic shift of GaSb/GaAs quantum dots. The diamagnetic coefficient ranges from 5 to 30 μeV/T². The large coefficient and their large distribution are attributed to the size inhomogeneity and electron localization outside the dot. The g-factor of GaSb/GaAs quantum dots is slightly larger than that of similar type I InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots. In addition, we find almost linear relationship between the diamagnetic coefficient and the g-factor. The linear increase of g-factor with diamagnetic coefficient is due to an increase of spin-orbit interaction with dot size.     

Electron transport across a quantum wire embedding a saw-tooth superlattice

By developing the recursive Green function method, the transport properties through a quantum wire embedding a finite-length saw-tooth superlattice are studied in the presence of magnetic field. The effects of magnetic modulation and the geometric structures of the superlattice on transmission coefficient are discussed. It is shown that resonant peak splitting of this kind of structure is different from that of ‘magnetic' and ‘electric' superlattices in two-dimensional electron gas. The transmission spectrum can be tailored to match requirements through adjusting the size of saw-tooth quantum dot and field strength.     

Transport Characteristics of Mesoscopic Radio-Frequency Single Electron Transistor

The transport property of a quantum dot under the influence of external time-dependent field is investigated. The mesoscopic device is modelled as semiconductor quantum dot coupled weakly to superconducting leads via asymmetric double tunnel barriers of different heights. An expression for the current is deduced by using the Landauer-Buttiker formula, taking into consideration of both the Coulomb blockade effect and the magnetic field. It is found that the periodic oscillation of the current with the magnetic field is controlled by the ratio of the frequency of the applied ac-field to the electron cyclotron frequency. Our results show that the present device operates as a radio-frequency single electron transistor.     

Vortex formation in quantum dots in high magnetic fields

We study electronic structures of two-dimensional quantum dots in high magnetic fields using the density-functional theory (DFT) and the exact diagonalization (ED). With increasing magnetic field, beyond the formation of the totally spin-polarized maximum density droplet (MDD) state, the DFT gives the ground-state total angular momentum as a continuous function with well-defined plateaus. The plateaus agree well with the magic angular momenta of the ED calculation. By constructing a conditional wave function from the Kohn–Sham states we show that vortices enter the quantum dot one-by-one at the transition to the state with the adjacent magic angular momentum. Vortices are also observed outside the high-density region of the quantum dot. These findings are compared to the ED results and we report a significant agreement. We also study interpretations and limitations of the density functional approach in these calculations.     

Entanglement and Zeeman interaction in diluted magnetic semiconductor quantum dot

We present theoretically the Zeeman coupling and exchange-induced swap action in spin-based quantum dot quantum computer models in the presence of magnetic field. We study the valence and conduction band states in a double quantum dots made in diluted magnetic semiconductor. The latter have been proven to be very useful in building an all-semiconductor platform for spintronics. Due to a strong p–d exchange interaction in diluted magnetic semiconductor (Cd_0.57Mn_0.43Te), the relative contribution of this component is strongly affected by an external magnetic field, a feature that is absent in nonmagnetic double quantum dots. We determine the energy spectrum as a function of magnetic field within the Hund–Mulliken molecular-orbit approach and by including the Coulomb interaction. Since we show that the ground state of the two carriers confined in a vertically coupled quantum dots provide a possible realization for a gate of a quantum computer, the crossing between the lowest states, caused by the giant spin splitting, can be observed as a pronounced jump in the magnetization of small magnetic field amplitude. Finally, we determine the swap time as a function of magnetic field and the inter dot distance. We estimate quantitatively swap errors caused by the field, establishing that error correction would, in principle, be possible in the presence of nonuniform magnetic field in realistic structures.