396 research outputs found
Observation of the single-electron regime in a highly tunable silicon quantum dot
We report on low-temperature electronic transport measurements of a silicon
metal-oxide-semiconductor quantum dot, with independent gate control of
electron densities in the leads and the quantum dot island. This architecture
allows the dot energy levels to be probed without affecting the electron
density in the leads, and vice versa. Appropriate gate biasing enables the dot
occupancy to be reduced to the single-electron level, as evidenced by
magnetospectroscopy measurements of the ground state of the first two charge
transitions. Independent gate control of the electron reservoirs also enables
discrimination between excited states of the dot and density of states
modulations in the leads.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted for Applied Physics Letter
Depletion-mode Quantum Dots in Intrinsic Silicon
We report the fabrication and electrical characterization of depletion-mode
quantum dots in a two-dimensional hole gas (2DHG) in intrinsic silicon. We use
fixed charge in a SiO/AlO dielectric stack to induce a 2DHG at the
Si/SiO interface. Fabrication of the gate structures is accomplished with a
single layer metallization process. Transport spectroscopy reveals regular
Coulomb oscillations with charging energies of 10-15 meV and 3-5 meV for the
few- and many-hole regimes, respectively. This depletion-mode design avoids
complex multilayer architectures requiring precision alignment, and allows to
adopt directly best practices already developed for depletion dots in other
material systems. We also demonstrate a method to deactivate fixed charge in
the SiO/AlO dielectric stack using deep ultraviolet light, which
may become an important procedure to avoid unwanted 2DHG build-up in Si MOS
quantum bits.Comment: Accepted to Applied Physics Letters. 5 pages, 3 figure
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Strigolactone analogues induce suicidal seed germination of Striga spp. in soil
Striga hermonthica and Striga asiatica are obligate root parasites that cause serious problems in the production of staple cereal crops in Africa. Because of the high levels of infestation, there is an urgent need to control these weeds. A potentially useful control option is depletion of the soil seed bank by suicidal germination, which involves germination of the seeds in the absence of host plants. Suicidal germination is often mentioned in the literature, but not considered realistic, because of the alleged untimely decomposition of the stimulants in the soil, despite the fact that some encouraging results were reported around 1980. The alleged instability has prevented active research in this direction for the past 20–25 years. Five newly designed synthetic germination stimulants were investigated as candidates for suicidal germination. An important issue is the persistence of these stimulants in soil. Packets with Striga spp. seeds were put in pots with soil and then treated with aqueous solutions of the stimulants. All five compounds induced germination under these conditions, with percentages varying between 18% and 98% depending on stimulant and species. There were no noticeable signs of decomposition of the stimulants. The best performing stimulant is derived from 1-tetralone. We conclude that synthetic strigolactones analogues have excellent prospects for use in combating parasitic weeds. Further testing will be needed to evaluate whether such prospects can be realised in the field
Strong coupling between single-electron tunneling and nano-mechanical motion
Nanoscale resonators that oscillate at high frequencies are useful in many
measurement applications. We studied a high-quality mechanical resonator made
from a suspended carbon nanotube driven into motion by applying a periodic
radio frequency potential using a nearby antenna. Single-electron charge
fluctuations created periodic modulations of the mechanical resonance
frequency. A quality factor exceeding 10^5 allows the detection of a shift in
resonance frequency caused by the addition of a single-electron charge on the
nanotube. Additional evidence for the strong coupling of mechanical motion and
electron tunneling is provided by an energy transfer to the electrons causing
mechanical damping and unusual nonlinear behavior. We also discovered that a
direct current through the nanotube spontaneously drives the mechanical
resonator, exerting a force that is coherent with the high-frequency resonant
mechanical motion.Comment: Main text 12 pages, 4 Figures, Supplement 13 pages, 6 Figure
Resonant tunnelling features in the transport spectroscopy of quantum dots
We present a review of features due to resonant tunnelling in transport
spectroscopy experiments on quantum dots and single donors. The review covers
features attributable to intrinsic properties of the dot as well as extrinsic
effects, with a focus on the most common operating conditions. We describe
several phenomena that can lead to apparently identical signatures in a bias
spectroscopy measurement, with the aim of providing experimental methods to
distinguish between their different physical origins. The correct
classification of the resonant tunnelling features is an essential requirement
to understand the details of the confining potential or predict the performance
of the dot for quantum information processing.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures. Short review article submitted to
Nanotechnology, special issue on 'Quantum Science and Technology at the
Nanoscale
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