61 research outputs found
Probing quasiparticle excitations in a hybrid single electron transistor
We investigate the behavior of quasiparticles in a hybrid electron turnstile
with the aim of improving its performance as a metrological current source. The
device is used to directly probe the density of quasiparticles and monitor
their relaxation into normal metal traps. We compare different trap geometries
and reach quasiparticle densities below 3um^-3 for pumping frequencies of 20
MHz. Our data show that quasiparticles are excited both by the device operation
itself and by the electromagnetic environment of the sample. Our observations
can be modelled on a quantitative level with a sequential tunneling model and a
simple diffusion equation
Statistics of the dissipated energy in driven single-electron transitions
We analyze the distribution of heat generated in driven single-electron
transitions and discuss the related non-equilibrium work theorems. In the
adiabatic limit, the heat distribution is shown to become Gaussian, with the
heat noise that, in spite of thermal fluctuations, vanishes together with the
average dissipated energy. We show that the transitions satisfy Jarzynski
equality for arbitrary drive and calculate the probability of the negative heat
values. We also derive a general condition on the heat distribution that
generalizes the Bochkov-Kuzovlev equality and connects it to the Jarzynski
equality.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
Experimental Observation of the Role of Mutual Information in the Nonequilibrium Dynamics of a Maxwell Demon
We validate experimentally a fluctuation relation known as generalized Jarzynski equality governing the work distribution in a feedback-controlled system. The feedback control is performed on a single electron box analogously to the original Szilard engine. In the generalized Jarzynski equality, mutual information is treated on an equal footing with the thermodynamic work. Our measurements provide the first evidence of the role of mutual information in the fluctuation theorem and thermodynamics of irreversible processes.Peer reviewe
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
Spin orbit coupling at the level of a single electron
We utilize electron counting techniques to distinguish a spin conserving fast
tunneling process and a slower process involving spin flips in
AlGaAs/GaAs-based double quantum dots. By studying the dependence of the rates
on the interdot tunnel coupling of the two dots, we find that as many as 4% of
the tunneling events occur with a spin flip related to spin-orbit coupling in
GaAs. Our measurement has a fidelity of 99 % in terms of resolving whether a
tunneling event occurred with a spin flip or not
Environmentally activated tunneling events in a hybrid single-electron box
We have measured individual tunneling events and Coulomb step shapes in single-electron boxes with opaque superconductor–normal metal tunnel junctions. We observe anomalous broadening of the Coulomb step with decreasing temperature in a manner that is consistent with activation of first-order tunneling events by an external dissipative electromagnetic environment. We demonstrate that the rates for energetically unfavorable tunneling events saturate to finite values at low temperatures, and that the saturation level can be suppressed by more than an order of magnitude by a capacitive shunt near the device. The findings are important in assessing the performance limits of any single-electronic device. In particular, master-equation-based simulations show that the electromagnetic environment realized in the capacitively shunted devices allows for a metrologically accurate charge pump based on hybrid tunnel junctions.Peer reviewe
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