1/f noise in a dilute GaAs two-dimensional hole system in the insulating phase

We have measured the resistance and the 1/f resistance noise of a two-dimensional low density hole system in a high mobility GaAs quantum well at low temperature. At densities lower than the metal-insulator transition one, the temperature dependence of the resistance is either power-like or simply activated. The noise decreases when the temperature or the density increase. These results contradict the standard description of independent particles in the strong localization regime. On the contrary, they agree with the percolation picture suggested by higher density results. The physical nature of the system could be a mixture of a conducting and an insulating phase. We compare our results with those of composite thin films.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; to appear in Physica E (EP2DS-16 proceedings

Measurements of higher order noise correlations in a quantum dot with a finite bandwidth detector

We present measurements of the fourth and fifth cumulants of the distribution of transmitted charge in a tunable quantum dot. We investigate how the measured statistics is influenced by the finite bandwidth of the detector and by the finite measurement time. By including the detector when modeling the system, we use the theory of full counting statistics to calculate the noise levels for the combined system. The predictions of the finite-bandwidth model are in good agreement with measured data

Frequency-selective single photon detection using a double quantum dot

We use a double quantum dot as a frequency-tunable on-chip microwave detector to investigate the radiation from electron shot-noise in a near-by quantum point contact. The device is realized by monitoring the inelastic tunneling of electrons between the quantum dots due to photon absorption. The frequency of the absorbed radiation is set by the energy separation between the dots, which is easily tuned with gate voltages. Using time-resolved charge detection techniques, we can directly relate the detection of a tunneling electron to the absorption of a single photon

Resistance Noise Scaling in a Dilute Two-Dimensional Hole System in GaAs

We have measured the resistance noise of a two-dimensional (2D)hole system in a high mobility GaAs quantum well, around the 2D metal-insulator transition (MIT) at zero magnetic field. The normalized noise power $S_R/R^2$ increases strongly when the hole density p_s is decreased, increases slightly with temperature (T) at the largest densities, and decreases strongly with T at low p_s. The noise scales with the resistance, $S_R/R^2 \sim R^{2.4}$, as for a second order phase transition such as a percolation transition. The p_s dependence of the conductivity is consistent with a critical behavior for such a transition, near a density p* which is lower than the observed MIT critical density p_c.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. Let

Resistance noise scaling in a 2D system in GaAs

The 1/f resistance noise of a two-dimensional (2D) hole system in a high mobility GaAs quantum well has been measured on both sides of the 2D metal-insulator transition (MIT) at zero magnetic field (B=0), and deep in the insulating regime. The two measurement methods used are described: I or V fixed, and measurement of resp. V or I fluctuations. The normalized noise magnitude SR/R^2 increases strongly when the hole density is decreased, and its temperature (T) dependence goes from a slight increase with T at the largest densities, to a strong decrease at low density. We find that the noise magnitude scales with the resistance, SR /R^2 ~ R^2.4. Such a scaling is expected for a second order phase transition or a percolation transition. The possible presence of such a transition is investigated by studying the dependence of the conductivity as a function of the density. This dependence is consistent with a critical behavior close to a critical density p* lower than the usual MIT critical density pc.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, Proceedings of SPIE: Fluctuations and noise in materials, D. Popovic, M.B. Weissman, Z.A. Racz Eds., Vol. 5469, pp. 101-113, Mspalomas, Spain, 200

Tunable few electron quantum dots in InAs nanowires

Quantum dots realized in InAs are versatile systems to study the effect of spin-orbit interaction on the spin coherence, as well as the possibility to manipulate single spins using an electric field. We present transport measurements on quantum dots realized in InAs nanowires. Lithographically defined top-gates are used to locally deplete the nanowire and to form tunneling barriers. By using three gates, we can form either single quantum dots, or two quantum dots in series along the nanowire. Measurements of the stability diagrams for both cases show that this method is suitable for producing high quality quantum dots in InAs.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Optical Phonon Lasing in Semiconductor Double Quantum Dots

We propose optical phonon lasing for a double quantum dot (DQD) fabricated in a semiconductor substrate. We show that the DQD is weakly coupled to only two LO phonon modes that act as a natural cavity. The lasing occurs for pumping the DQD via electronic tunneling at rates much higher than the phonon decay rate, whereas an antibunching of phonon emission is observed in the opposite regime of slow tunneling. Both effects disappear with an effective thermalization induced by the Franck-Condon effect in a DQD fabricated in a carbon nanotube with a strong electron-phonon coupling.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Magnetic-field symmetries of mesoscopic nonlinear conductance

We examine contributions to the dc-current of mesoscopic samples which are non-linear in applied voltage. In the presence of a magnetic field, the current can be decomposed into components which are odd (antisymmetric) and even (symmetric) under flux reversal. For a two-terminal chaotic cavity, these components turn out to be very sensitive to the strength of the Coulomb interaction and the asymmetry of the contact conductances. For both two- and multi-terminal quantum dots we discuss correlations of current non-linearity in voltage measured at different magnetic fields and temperatures.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure