50 research outputs found
Unexpected features of branched flow through high-mobility two-dimensional electron gases
GaAs-based two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) show a wealth of remarkable
electronic states, and serve as the basis for fast transistors, research on
electrons in nanostructures, and prototypes of quantum-computing schemes. All
these uses depend on the extremely low levels of disorder in GaAs 2DEGs, with
low-temperature mean free paths ranging from microns to hundreds of microns.
Here we study how disorder affects the spatial structure of electron transport
by imaging electron flow in three different GaAs/AlGaAs 2DEGs, whose mobilities
range over an order of magnitude. As expected, electrons flow along narrow
branches that we find remain straight over a distance roughly proportional to
the mean free path. We also observe two unanticipated phenomena in
high-mobility samples. In our highest-mobility sample we observe an almost
complete absence of sharp impurity or defect scattering, indicated by the
complete suppression of quantum coherent interference fringes. Also, branched
flow through the chaotic potential of a high-mobility sample remains stable to
significant changes to the initial conditions of injected electrons.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl
Imaging and controlling electron transport inside a quantum ring
Traditionally, the understanding of quantum transport, coherent and
ballistic1, relies on the measurement of macroscopic properties such as the
conductance. While powerful when coupled to statistical theories, this approach
cannot provide a detailed image of "how electrons behave down there". Ideally,
understanding transport at the nanoscale would require tracking each electron
inside the nano-device. Significant progress towards this goal was obtained by
combining Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) with transport measurements2-7. Some
studies even showed signatures of quantum transport in the surrounding of
nanostructures4-6. Here, SPM is used to probe electron propagation inside an
open quantum ring exhibiting the archetype of electron wave interference
phenomena: the Aharonov-Bohm effect8. Conductance maps recorded while scanning
the biased tip of a cryogenic atomic force microscope above the quantum ring
show that the propagation of electrons, both coherent and ballistic, can be
investigated in situ, and even be controlled by tuning the tip potential.Comment: 11 text pages + 3 figure
Imaging Coulomb Islands in a Quantum Hall Interferometer
In the Quantum Hall regime, near integer filling factors, electrons should
only be transmitted through spatially-separated edge states. However, in
mesoscopic systems, electronic transmission turns out to be more complex,
giving rise to a large spectrum of magnetoresistance oscillations. To explain
these observations, recent models put forward that, as edge states come close
to each other, electrons can hop between counterpropagating edge channels, or
tunnel through Coulomb islands. Here, we use scanning gate microscopy to
demonstrate the presence of quantum Hall Coulomb islands, and reveal the
spatial structure of transport inside a quantum Hall interferometer. Electron
islands locations are found by modulating the tunneling between edge states and
confined electron orbits. Tuning the magnetic field, we unveil a continuous
evolution of active electron islands. This allows to decrypt the complexity of
high magnetic field magnetoresistance oscillations, and opens the way to
further local scale manipulations of quantum Hall localized states
Imaging Magnetic Focusing of Coherent Electron Waves
The magnetic focusing of electrons has proven its utility in fundamental
studies of electron transport. Here we report the direct imaging of magnetic
focusing of electron waves, specifically in a two-dimensional electron gas
(2DEG). We see the semicircular trajectories of electrons as they bounce along
a boundary in the 2DEG, as well as fringes showing the coherent nature of the
electron waves. Imaging flow in open systems is made possible by a cooled
scanning probe microscope. Remarkable agreement between experiment and theory
demonstrates our ability to see these trajectories and to use this system as an
interferometer. We image branched electron flow as well as the interference of
electron waves. This technique can visualize the motion of electron waves
between two points in an open system, providing a straightforward way to study
systems that may be useful for quantum information processing and spintronics
Single-Atom Gating of Quantum State Superpositions
The ultimate miniaturization of electronic devices will likely require local
and coherent control of single electronic wavefunctions. Wavefunctions exist
within both physical real space and an abstract state space with a simple
geometric interpretation: this state space--or Hilbert space--is spanned by
mutually orthogonal state vectors corresponding to the quantized degrees of
freedom of the real-space system. Measurement of superpositions is akin to
accessing the direction of a vector in Hilbert space, determining an angle of
rotation equivalent to quantum phase. Here we show that an individual atom
inside a designed quantum corral can control this angle, producing arbitrary
coherent superpositions of spatial quantum states. Using scanning tunnelling
microscopy and nanostructures assembled atom-by-atom we demonstrate how single
spins and quantum mirages can be harnessed to image the superposition of two
electronic states. We also present a straightforward method to determine the
atom path enacting phase rotations between any desired state vectors. A single
atom thus becomes a real space handle for an abstract Hilbert space, providing
a simple technique for coherent quantum state manipulation at the spatial limit
of condensed matter.Comment: Published online 6 April 2008 in Nature Physics; 17 page manuscript
(including 4 figures) + 3 page supplement (including 2 figures);
supplementary movies available at http://mota.stanford.ed
Numerical analysis of the resistance behavior of an electrostatically-induced graphene double junction
We present a numerical approach that we have developed in order to reproduce and explain the resistance behavior recently observed, as a function of the backgate voltage and of the position of a biased scanning probe, in a graphene flake in which a double p-n junction has been electrostatically induced. A simplified electrostatic model has been adopted to simulate the effect of gate voltages on the potential landscape, assuming for it a slow variation in space and using a simple capacitive model for the coupling between the electrodes and the graphene sheet. The transport analysis has then been performed with a solution of the Dirac equation in the reciprocal space coupled with a recursive scattering matrix approach. The efficiency of the adopted numerical procedure has allowed us to explore a wide range of possible potential landscapes and bias points, with the result of achieving a good agreement with available experimental data
Ge/Si nanowire mesoscopic Josephson junctions
The controlled growth of nanowires (NWs) with dimensions comparable to the
Fermi wavelengths of the charge carriers allows fundamental investigations of
quantum confinement phenomena. Here, we present studies of proximity-induced
superconductivity in undoped Ge/Si core/shell NW heterostructures contacted by
superconducting leads. By using a top gate electrode to modulate the carrier
density in the NW, the critical supercurrent can be tuned from zero to greater
than 100 nA. Furthermore, discrete sub-bands form in the NW due to confinement
in the radial direction, which results in stepwise increases in the critical
current as a function of gate voltage. Transport measurements on these
superconductor-NW-superconductor devices reveal high-order (n = 25) resonant
multiple Andreev reflections, indicating that the NW channel is smooth and the
charge transport is highly coherent. The ability to create and control coherent
superconducting ordered states in semiconductor-superconductor hybrid
nanostructures allows for new opportunities in the study of fundamental
low-dimensional superconductivity
Cinnamic acid induces apoptotic cell death and cytoskeleton disruption in human melanoma cells
Random focusing of tsunami waves
Tsunamis exhibit surprisingly strong height fluctuations. An in-depth understanding of the mechanisms that lead to these variations in wave height is a prerequisite for reliable tsunami forecasting. It is known, for example, that the presence of large underwater islands1 or the shape of the tsunami source2 can affect the wave heights. Here we show that the consecutive effect of even tiny fluctuations in the profile of the ocean floor (the bathymetry) can cause unexpectedly strong fluctuations in the wave height of tsunamis, with maxima several times higher than the average wave height. A novel approach combining stochastic caustic theory and shallow water wave dynamics allows us to determine the typical propagation distance at which the strongly focused waves appear. We demonstrate that owing to this mechanism the small errors present in bathymetry measurements can lead to drastic variations in predicted tsunami heights. Our results show that a precise knowledge of the ocean’s bathymetry is absolutely indispensable for reliable tsunami forecasts