Magnetoresistence engineering and singlet/triplet switching in InAs nanowire quantum dots with ferromagnetic sidegates

We present magnetoresistance (MR) experiments on an InAs nanowire quantum dot device with two ferromagnetic sidegates (FSGs) in a split-gate geometry. The wire segment can be electrically tuned to a single dot or to a double dot regime using the FSGs and a backgate. In both regimes we find a strong MR and a sharp MR switching of up to 25\% at the field at which the magnetizations of the FSGs are inverted by the external field. The sign and amplitude of the MR and the MR switching can both be tuned electrically by the FSGs. In a double dot regime close to pinch-off we find {\it two} sharp transitions in the conductance, reminiscent of tunneling MR (TMR) between two ferromagnetic contacts, with one transition near zero and one at the FSG switching fields. These surprisingly rich characteristics we explain in several simple resonant tunneling models. For example, the TMR-like MR can be understood as a stray-field controlled transition between singlet and a triplet double dot states. Such local magnetic fields are the key elements in various proposals to engineer novel states of matter and may be used for testing electron spin-based Bell inequalities.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Local electrical tuning of the nonlocal signals in a Cooper pair splitter

A Cooper pair splitter consists of a central superconducting contact, S, from which electrons are injected into two parallel, spatially separated quantum dots (QDs). This geometry and electron interactions can lead to correlated electrical currents due to the spatial separation of spin-singlet Cooper pairs from S. We present experiments on such a device with a series of bottom gates, which allows for spatially resolved tuning of the tunnel couplings between the QDs and the electrical contacts and between the QDs. Our main findings are gate-induced transitions between positive conductance correlation in the QDs due to Cooper pair splitting and negative correlations due to QD dynamics. Using a semi-classical rate equation model we show that the experimental findings are consistent with in-situ electrical tuning of the local and nonlocal quantum transport processes. In particular, we illustrate how the competition between Cooper pair splitting and local processes can be optimized in such hybrid nanostructures.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, 2 table

Magnetic field tuning and quantum interference in a Cooper pair splitter

Cooper pair splitting (CPS) is a process in which the electrons of naturally occurring spin-singlet pairs in a superconductor are spatially separated using two quantum dots. Here we investigate the evolution of the conductance correlations in an InAs CPS device in the presence of an external magnetic field. In our experiments the gate dependence of the signal that depends on both quantum dots continuously evolves from a slightly asymmetric Lorentzian to a strongly asymmetric Fano-type resonance with increasing field. These experiments can be understood in a simple three - site model, which shows that the nonlocal CPS leads to symmetric line shapes, while the local transport processes can exhibit an asymmetric shape due to quantum interference. These findings demonstrate that the electrons from a Cooper pair splitter can propagate coherently after their emission from the superconductor and how a magnetic field can be used to optimize the performance of a CPS device. In addition, the model calculations suggest that the estimate of the CPS efficiency in the experiments is a lower bound for the actual efficiency.Comment: 5 pages + 4 pages supplementary informatio

Surface-charge-induced freezing of colloidal suspensions

Using grand-canonical Monte Carlo simulations we investigate the impact of charged walls on the crystallization properties of charged colloidal suspensions confined between these walls. The investigations are based on an effective model focussing on the colloids alone. Our results demonstrate that the fluid-wall interaction stemming from charged walls has a crucial impact on the fluid's high-density behavior as compared to the case of uncharged walls. In particular, based on an analysis of in-plane bond order parameters we find surface-charge-induced freezing and melting transitions

Multi-wall carbon nanotubes as quantum dots

We have measured the differential conductance dI/dV of individual multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWNT) of different lengths. A cross-over from wire-like (long tubes) to dot-like (short tubes) behavior is observed. dI/dV is dominated by random conductance fluctuations (UCF) in long MWNT devices (L=2...7 $\mu m$), while Coulomb blockade and energy level quantization are observed in short ones (L=300 nm). The electron levels of short MWNT dots are nearly four-fold degenerate (including spin) and their evolution in magnetic field (Zeeman splitting) agrees with a g-factor of 2. In zero magnetic field the sequential filling of states evolves with spin S according to S=0 -> 1/2 -> 0... In addition, a Kondo enhancement of the conductance is observed when the number of electrons on the tube is odd.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Nonequilibrium Singlet-Triplet Kondo Effect in Carbon Nanotubes

The Kondo-effect is a many-body phenomenon arising due to conduction electrons scattering off a localized spin. Coherent spin-flip scattering off such a quantum impurity correlates the conduction electrons and at low temperature this leads to a zero-bias conductance anomaly. This has become a common signature in bias-spectroscopy of single-electron transistors, observed in GaAs quantum dots as well as in various single-molecule transistors. While the zero-bias Kondo effect is well established it remains uncertain to what extent Kondo correlations persist in non-equilibrium situations where inelastic processes induce decoherence. Here we report on a pronounced conductance peak observed at finite bias-voltage in a carbon nanotube quantum dot in the spin singlet ground state. We explain this finite-bias conductance anomaly by a nonequilibrium Kondo-effect involving excitations into a spin triplet state. Excellent agreement between calculated and measured nonlinear conductance is obtained, thus strongly supporting the correlated nature of this nonequilibrium resonance.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figure

Ground state phase diagram and "parity flipping'' microwave transitions in a gate-tunable Josephson Junction

We probed a gate-tunable InAs nanowire Josephson weak link by coupling it to a microwave resonator. Tracking the resonator frequency shift when the weak link is close to pinch-off, we observe that the ground state of the latter alternates between a singlet and a doublet when varying either the gate voltage or the superconducting phase difference across it. The corresponding microwave absorption spectra display lines that approach zero energy close to the singlet-doublet boundaries, suggesting parity flipping transitions, which are in principle forbidden in microwave spectroscopy and expected to arise only in tunnel spectroscopy. We tentatively interpret them by means of an ancillary state isolated in the junction acting as a reservoir for individual electrons

Signatures of interactions in the Andreev spectrum of nanowire Josephson junctions

We performed microwave spectroscopy of an InAs nanowire between superconducting contacts implementing a finite-length, multichannel Josephson weak link. Certain features in the spectra, such as the splitting by spin-orbit interactions of the transition lines among Andreev states, have been already understood in terms of noninteracting models. However, we identify here additional transitions, which evidence the presence of Coulomb interactions. By combining experimental measurements and model calculations, we reach a qualitative understanding of these very rich Andreev spectr

Epitaxy of Semiconductor-Superconductor nanowires

Controlling the properties of semiconductor/metal interfaces is a powerful method for designing functionality and improving the performance of electrical devices. Recently semiconductor/superconductor hybrids have appeared as an important example where the atomic scale uniformity of the interface plays a key role for the quality of the induced superconducting gap. Here we present epitaxial growth of semiconductor-metal core-shell nanowires by molecular beam epitaxy, a method that provides a conceptually new route to controlled electrical contacting of nanostructures and for designing devices for specialized applications such as topological and gate-controlled superconducting electronics. Our materials of choice, InAs/Al, are grown with epitaxially matched single plane interfaces, and alternative semiconductor/metal combinations allowing epitaxial interface matching in nanowires are discussed. We formulate the grain growth kinetics of the metal phase in general terms of continuum parameters and bicrystal symmetries. The method realizes the ultimate limit of uniform interfaces and appears to solve the soft-gap problem in superconducting hybrid structures.Comment: Combined text and Supplementary Informatio