We investigate a recently developed scheme for quantized charge pumping based on single-parameter modulation. The device was realized in an AlGaAl-GaAs gated nanowire. It has been shown theoretically that non-adiabaticity is fundamentally required to realize single-parameter pumping, while in previous multi-parameter pumping schemes it caused unwanted and less controllable currents. In this paper we demonstrate experimentally the constructive and destructive role of non-adiabaticity by analysing the pumping current over a broad frequency range.
Controlled charge pumping in an AlGaAs/GaAs gated nanowire by single-parameter modulation is studied experimentally and theoretically. Transfer of integral multiples of the elementary charge per modulation cycle is clearly demonstrated. A simple theoretical model shows that such a quantized current can be generated via loading and unloading of a dynamic quasi-bound state. It demonstrates that non-adiabatic blockade of unwanted tunnel events can obliterate the requirement of having at least two phase-shifted periodic signals to realize quantized pumping. The simple configuration without multiple pumping signals might find wide application in metrological experiments and quantum electronics.
Single electron pumps are set to revolutionize electrical metrology by enabling the ampere to be re-defined in terms of the elementary charge of an electron. Pumps based on lithographically-fixed tunnel barriers in mesoscopic metallic systems and normal/superconducting hybrid turnstiles can reach very small error rates, but only at MHz pumping speeds corresponding to small currents of the order 1 pA. Tunable barrier pumps in semiconductor structures have been operated at GHz frequencies, but the theoretical treatment of the error rate is more complex and only approximate predictions are available. Here, we present a monolithic, fixed barrier single electron pump made entirely from graphene. We demonstrate pump operation at frequencies up to 1.4 GHz, and predict the error rate to be as low as 0.01 parts per million at 90 MHz. Combined with the record-high accuracy of the quantum Hall effect and proximity induced Josephson junctions, accurate quantized current generation brings an all-graphene closure of the quantum metrological triangle within reach. Envisaged applications for graphene charge pumps outside quantum metrology include single photon generation via electron-hole recombination in electrostatically doped bilayer graphene reservoirs, and for readout of spin-based graphene qubits in quantum information processing.
We demonstrate single-electron pumping in a gate-defined carbon nanotube double quantum dot. By periodic modulation of the potentials of the two quantum dots we move the system around charge triple points and transport exactly one electron or hole per cycle. We investigate the pumping as a function of the modulation frequency and amplitude and observe good current quantization up to frequencies of 18 MHz where rectification effects cause the mechanism to break down.
Semiconducting nanowires (NWs) are a versatile, highly tunable material platform at the heart of many new developments in nanoscale and quantum physics. Here, we demonstrate charge pumping, i.e., the controlled transport of individual electrons through an InAs NW quantum dot (QD) device at frequencies up to $1.3,$GHz. The QD is induced electrostatically in the NW by a series of local bottom gates in a state of the art device geometry. A periodic modulation of a single gate is enough to obtain a dc current proportional to the frequency of the modulation. The dc bias, the modulation amplitude and the gate voltages on the local gates can be used to control the number of charges conveyed per cycle. Charge pumping in InAs NWs is relevant not only in metrology as a current standard, but also opens up the opportunity to investigate a variety of exotic states of matter, e.g. Majorana modes, by single electron spectroscopy and correlation experiments.
We demonstrate charge pumping in semiconducting carbon nanotubes by a traveling potential wave. From the observation of pumping in the nanotube insulating state we deduce that transport occurs by packets of charge being carried along by the wave. By tuning the potential of a side gate, transport of either electron or hole packets can be realized. Prospects for the realization of nanotube based single-electron pumps are discussed.