Adiabatic steering and determination of dephasing rates in double dot qubits

We propose a scheme to prepare arbitrary superpositions of quantum states in double quantum--dots irradiated by coherent microwave pulses. Solving the equations of motion for the dot density matrix, we find that dephasing rates for such superpositions can be quantitatively infered from additional electron current pulses that appear due to a controllable breakdown of coherent population trapping in the dots.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. To appear in Phys. Rev.

Mechanical Mixing in Nonlinear Nanomechanical Resonators

Nanomechanical resonators, machined out of Silicon-on-Insulator wafers, are operated in the nonlinear regime to investigate higher-order mechanical mixing at radio frequencies, relevant to signal processing and nonlinear dynamics on nanometer scales. Driven by two neighboring frequencies the resonators generate rich power spectra exhibiting a multitude of satellite peaks. This nonlinear response is studied and compared to $n^{th}$-order perturbation theory and nonperturbative numerical calculations.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figure

Superposition of photon- and phonon- assisted tunneling in coupled quantum dots

We report on electron transport through an artificial molecule formed by two tunnel coupled quantum dots, which are laterally confined in a two-dimensional electron system of an Al$_x$Ga$_{1-x}$As/GaAs heterostructure. Coherent molecular states in the coupled dots are probed by photon-assisted tunneling (PAT). Above 10 GHz, we observe clear PAT as a result of the resonance between the microwave photons and the molecular states. Below 8 GHz, a pronounced superposition of phonon- and photon-assisted tunneling is observed. Coherent superposition of molecular states persists under excitation of acoustic phonons.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Determination of the complex microwave photoconductance of a single quantum dot

A small quantum dot containing approximately 20 electrons is realized in a two-dimensional electron system of an AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure. Conventional transport and microwave spectroscopy reveal the dot's electronic structure. By applying a coherently coupled two-source technique, we are able to determine the complex microwave induced tunnel current. The amplitude of this photoconductance resolves photon-assisted tunneling (PAT) in the non-linear regime through the ground state and an excited state as well. The out-of-phase component (susceptance) allows to study charge relaxation within the quantum dot on a time scale comparable to the microwave beat period.Comment: 5.5 pages, 6 figures, accepted by Phys. Rev. B (Jan. B15 2001

Non-Markovian dynamics of double quantum dot charge qubits due to acoustic phonons

We investigate the dynamics of a double quantum dot charge qubit which is coupled to piezoelectric acoustic phonons, appropriate for GaAs heterostructures. At low temperatures, the phonon bath induces a non-Markovian dynamical behavior of the oscillations between the two charge states of the double quantum dot. Upon applying the numerically exact quasiadiabatic propagator path-integral scheme, the reduced density matrix of the charge qubit is calculated, thereby avoiding the Born-Markov approximation. This allows a systematic study of the dependence of the Q-factor on the lattice temperature, on the size of the quantum dots, as well as on the interdot coupling. We calculate the Q-factor for a recently realized experimental setup and find that it is two orders of magnitudes larger than the measured value, indicating that the decoherence due to phonons is a subordinate mechanism.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures, replaced with the version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Spin blockade in ground state resonance of a quantum dot

We present measurements on spin blockade in a laterally integrated quantum dot. The dot is tuned into the regime of strong Coulomb blockade, confining ~ 50 electrons. At certain electronic states we find an additional mechanism suppressing electron transport. This we identify as spin blockade at zero bias, possibly accompanied by a change in orbital momentum in subsequent dot ground states. We support this by probing the bias, magnetic field and temperature dependence of the transport spectrum. Weak violation of the blockade is modelled by detailed calculations of non-linear transport taking into account forbidden transitions.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Microwave spectroscopy on a double quantum dot with an on-chip Josephson oscillator

We present measurements on microwave spectroscopy on a double quantum dot with an on-chip microwave source. The quantum dots are realized in the two-dimensional electron gas of an AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure and are weakly coupled in series by a tunnelling barrier forming an 'ionic' molecular state. We employ a Josephson oscillator formed by a long Nb/Al-AlO$_x$/Nb junction as a microwave source. We find photon-assisted tunnelling sidebands induced by the Josephson oscillator, and compare the results with those obtained using an externally operated microwave source.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure