The Kondo Effect in the Unitary Limit

We observe a strong Kondo effect in a semiconductor quantum dot when a small magnetic field is applied. The Coulomb blockade for electron tunneling is overcome completely by the Kondo effect and the conductance reaches the unitary-limit value. We compare the experimental Kondo temperature with the theoretical predictions for the spin-1/2 Anderson impurity model. Excellent agreement is found throughout the Kondo regime. Phase coherence is preserved when a Kondo quantum dot is included in one of the arms of an Aharonov-Bohm ring structure and the phase behavior differs from previous results on a non-Kondo dot.Comment: 10 page

Nongalvanic thermometry for ultracold two-dimensional electron domains

Measuring the temperature of a two-dimensional electron gas at temperatures of a few mK is a challenging issue, which standard thermometry schemes may fail to tackle. We propose and analyze a nongalvanic thermometer, based on a quantum point contact and quantum dot, which delivers virtually no power to the electron system to be measured.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Single-electron tunneling in InP nanowires

We report on the fabrication and electrical characterization of field-effect devices based on wire-shaped InP crystals grown from Au catalyst particles by a vapor-liquid-solid process. Our InP wires are n-type doped with diameters in the 40-55 nm range and lengths of several microns. After being deposited on an oxidized Si substrate, wires are contacted individually via e-beam fabricated Ti/Al electrodes. We obtain contact resistances as low as ~10 kOhm, with minor temperature dependence. The distance between the electrodes varies between 0.2 and 2 micron. The electron density in the wires is changed with a back gate. Low-temperature transport measurements show Coulomb-blockade behavior with single-electron charging energies of ~1 meV. We also demonstrate energy quantization resulting from the confinement in the wire.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Pauli spin blockade in CMOS double quantum dot devices

Silicon quantum dots are attractive candidates for the development of scalable, spin-based qubits. Pauli spin blockade in double quantum dots provides an efficient, temperature independent mechanism for qubit readout. Here we report on transport experiments in double gate nanowire transistors issued from a CMOS process on 300 mm silicon-on-insulator wafers. At low temperature the devices behave as two few-electron quantum dots in series. We observe signatures of Pauli spin blockade with a singlet-triplet splitting ranging from 0.3 to 1.3 meV. Magneto-transport measurements show that transitions which conserve spin are shown to be magnetic-field independent up to B = 6 T.Comment: 5 pages , 4 figure

Development of a measurement platformon a light airplane and analysis of airborne measurementsin the atmospheric boundary layer

In the present paper we provide an overview of a long term research project aimed at setting up a suitable platform for measurements in the atmospheric boundary layer on a light airplane along with some preliminary results obtained from fi eld campaigns at selected sites. Measurements of air pressure, temperature and relative humidity have been performed in various Alpine valleys up to a height of about 2500 m a.m.s.l. By means of GPS resources and specifi c post-processing procedures careful positioning of measurement points within the explored domain has been achieved. The analysis of collected data allowed detailed investigation of atmospheric vertical structures and dynamics typical of valley environment, such as morning transition from ground based inversion to fully developed well mixed convective boundary layer. Based on data collected along fl ights, 3D fi elds of the explored variables have been detected and identifi ed through application of geostatistical techniques (Kriging). The adopted procedures allowed evaluation of the intrinsic statistical structure of the spatial distribution of measured quantities and the estimate of the values of the same variable at unexplored locations by suitable weighted average of data recorded at close locations. Results thus obtained are presented and discussed