We observe the low-lying excitations of a molecular dimer formed by two electrons in a GaAs semiconductor quantum dot in which the number of confined electrons is tuned by optical illumination. By employing inelastic light scattering we identify the inter-shell excitations in the one-electron regime and the distinct spin and charge modes in the interacting few-body configuration. In the case of two electrons a comparison with configuration-interaction calculations allows us to link the observed excitations with the breathing mode of the molecular dimer and to determine the singlet-triplet energy splitting.
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.
We optically probe and electrically control a single artificial molecule containing a well defined number of electrons. Charge and spin dependent inter-dot quantum couplings are probed optically by adding a single electron-hole pair and detecting the emission from negatively charged exciton states. Coulomb and Pauli blockade effects are directly observed and hybridization and electrostatic charging energies are independently measured. The inter-dot quantum coupling is confirmed to be mediated predominantly by electron tunneling. Our results are in excellent accord with calculations that provide a complete picture of negative excitons and few electron states in quantum dot molecules.
Correlation among particles in finite quantum systems leads to complex behaviour and novel states of matter. One remarkable example is predicted to occur in a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) where at vanishing density the Coulomb correlation among electrons rigidly fixes their relative position as that of the nuclei in a molecule. In this limit, the neutral few-body excitations are roto-vibrations, which have either rigid-rotor or relative-motion character. In the weak-correlation regime, on the contrary, the Coriolis force mixes rotational and vibrational motions. Here we report evidence of roto-vibrational modes of an electron molecular state at densities for which electron localization is not yet fully achieved. We probe these collective modes by inelastic light scattering in QDs containing four electrons. Spectra of low-lying excitations associated to changes of the relative-motion wave function -the analogues of the vibration modes of a conventional molecule- do not depend on the rotational state represented by the total angular momentum. Theoretical simulations via the configuration-interaction (CI) method are in agreement with the observed roto-vibrational modes and indicate that such molecular excitations develop at the onset of short-range correlation.
We analyze the equilibrium and non-equilibrium frequency-dependent spin current noise and spin conductance through a quantum dot in the local moment regime. Spin current correlations are shown to behave markedly differently from charge correlations: Equilibrium spin cross-correlations are suppressed at frequencies below the Kondo scale, and are characterized by a universal function that we determine numerically for zero temperature. For asymmetrical quantum dots dynamical spin accumulation resonance is found for frequencies of the order of the Kondo energy. At higher temperatures surprising low-frequency anomalies related to overall spin conservation appear.
We study the influence of the proximity-induced pairing on electronic version of the Dicke effect in a heterostructure, comprising three quantum dots vertically coupled between the metallic and superconducting leads. We discuss a feasible experimental procedure for detecting the narrow/broad (subradiant/superradiant) contributions by means of the subgap Andreev spectroscopy. In the Kondo regime and for small energy level detuning the Dicke effect is manifested in the differential conductance.