1,300 research outputs found
Realization of the farad from the dc quantum Hall effect with digitally-assisted impedance bridges
A new traceability chain for the derivation of the farad from dc quantum Hall
effect has been implemented at INRIM. Main components of the chain are two new
coaxial transformer bridges: a resistance ratio bridge, and a quadrature
bridge, both operating at 1541 Hz. The bridges are energized and controlled
with a polyphase direct-digital-synthesizer, which permits to achieve both main
and auxiliary equilibria in an automated way; the bridges and do not include
any variable inductive divider or variable impedance box. The relative
uncertainty in the realization of the farad, at the level of 1000 pF, is
estimated to be 64E-9. A first verification of the realization is given by a
comparison with the maintained national capacitance standard, where an
agreement between measurements within their relative combined uncertainty of
420E-9 is obtained.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, 3 table
Towards a Graphene-Based Quantum Impedance Standard
Precision measurements of the quantum Hall resistance with alternating
current (ac) in the kHz range were performed on epitaxial graphene in order to
assess its suitability as a quantum standard of impedance. The quantum Hall
plateaus measured with alternating current were found to be flat within one
part in 10^7. This is much better than for plain GaAs quantum Hall devices and
shows that the magnetic-flux-dependent capacitive ac losses of the graphene
device are less critical. The observed frequency dependence of about
-8x10^-8/kHz is comparable in absolute value to the positive frequency
dependence of plain GaAs devices, but the negative sign is attributed to stray
capacitances which we believe can be minimized by a careful design of the
graphene device. Further improvements thus may lead to a simpler and more
user-friendly quantum standard for both resistance and impedance
Shaping charge excitations in chiral edge states with a time-dependent gate voltage
We study a coherent conductor supporting a single edge channel in which
alternating current pulses are created by local time-dependent gating and sent
on a beam-splitter realized by a quantum point contact. The current response to
the gate voltage in this setup is intrinsically linear. Based on a fully
self-consistent treatment employing a Floquet scattering theory, we analyze the
effect of different voltage shapes and frequencies, as well as the role of the
gate geometry on the injected signal. In particular, we highlight the impact of
frequency-dependent screening on the process of shaping the current signal. The
feasibility of creating true single-particle excitations with this method is
confirmed by investigating the suppression of excess noise, which is otherwise
created by additional electron-hole pair excitations in the current signal
Coulomb-blockade effect in nonlinear mesoscopic capacitors
We consider an interacting quantum dot working as a coherent source of single
electrons. The dot is tunnel coupled to a reservoir and capacitively coupled to
a gate terminal with an applied ac potential. At low frequencies, this is the
quantum analog of the RC circuit with a purely dynamical response. We
investigate the quantized dynamics as a consequence of ac pulses with large
amplitude. Within a Keldysh-Green function formalism we derive the
time-dependent current in the Coulomb blockade regime. Our theory thus extends
previous models that considered either noninteracting electrons in nonlinear
response or interacting electrons in the linear regime. We prove that the
electron emission and absorption resonances undergo a splitting when the
charging energy is larger than the tunnel broadening. For very large charging
energies, the additional peaks collapse and the original resonances are
recovered, though with a reduced amplitude. Quantization of the charge emitted
by the capacitor is reduced due to Coulomb repulsion and additional plateaus
arise. Additionally, we discuss the differential capacitance and resistance as
a function of time. We find that to leading order in driving frequency the
current can be expressed as a weighted sum of noninteracting currents shifted
by the charging energy.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures. Minor changes. Published versio
Single-electron current sources: towards a refined definition of ampere
Controlling electrons at the level of elementary charge has been
demonstrated experimentally already in the 1980's. Ever since, producing an
electrical current , or its integer multiple, at a drive frequency has
been in a focus of research for metrological purposes. In this review we first
discuss the generic physical phenomena and technical constraints that influence
charge transport. We then present the broad variety of proposed realizations.
Some of them have already proven experimentally to nearly fulfill the demanding
needs, in terms of transfer errors and transfer rate, of quantum metrology of
electrical quantities, whereas some others are currently "just" wild ideas,
still often potentially competitive if technical constraints can be lifted. We
also discuss the important issues of read-out of single-electron events and
potential error correction schemes based on them. Finally, we give an account
of the status of single-electron current sources in the bigger framework of
electric quantum standards and of the future international SI system of units,
and briefly discuss the applications and uses of single-electron devices
outside the metrological context.Comment: 55 pages, 38 figures; (v2) fixed typos and misformatted references,
reworded the section on AC pump
Time-Dependent Transport in Mesoscopic Structures
A discussion of recent work on time-dependent transport in mesoscopic
structures is presented. The discussion emphasizes the use of time-dependent
transport to gain information on the charge distribution and its collective
dynamics. We discuss the RC-time of mesoscopic capacitors, the dynamic
conductance of quantum point contacts and dynamic weak localization effects in
chaotic cavities. We review work on adiabatic quantum pumping and
photon-assisted transport, and conclude with a list which demonstrates the wide
range of problems which are of interest
Realization of an Inductance Scale Traceable to the Quantum Hall Effect Using an Automated Synchronous Sampling System
In this paper, the realization of an inductance scale from 1~H to 10~H
for frequencies ranging between 50~Hz to 20~kHz is presented. The scale is
realized directly from a series of resistance standards using a fully automated
synchronous sampling system. A careful systematic characterization of the
system shows that the lowest uncertainties, around 12~H/H, are obtained
for inductances in the range from 10~mH to 100~mH at frequencies in the kHz
range. This new measurement system which was successfully evaluated during an
international comparison, provides a primary realization of the henry, directly
traceable to the quantum Hall effect. An additional key feature of this system
is its versatility. In addition to resistance-inductance (R-L) comparison, any
kind of impedances can be compared: R-R, R-C, L-L or C-C, giving this sampling
system a great potential of use in many laboratories around the world
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