No Arabic abstract
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.
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.
Cooper pair splitters are promising candidates for generating spin-entangled electrons. However, the splitting of Cooper pairs is a random and noisy process, which hinders further synchronized operations on the entangled electrons. To circumvent this problem, we here propose and analyze a dynamic Cooper pair splitter that produces a noiseless and regular flow of spin-entangled electrons. The Cooper pair splitter is based on a superconductor coupled to quantum dots, whose energy levels are tuned in and out of resonance to control the splitting process. We identify the optimal operating conditions for which exactly one Cooper pair is split per period of the external drive and the flow of entangled electrons becomes noiseless. To characterize the regularity of the Cooper pair splitter in the time domain, we analyze the $g^{(2)}$-function of the output currents and the distribution of waiting times between split Cooper pairs. Our proposal is feasible using current technology, and it paves the way for dynamic quantum information processing with spin-entangled electrons.
We investigate the nonlocal thermoelectric transport in a Cooper-pair splitter based on a double-quantum-dot-superconductor three-terminal hybrid structure. We find that the nonlocal coupling between the superconductor and the quantum dots gives rise to nonlocal thermoelectric effects which originate from the nonlocal particle-hole breaking of the system. We show that Cooper-pair splitting induces the generation of a thermo-current in the superconducting lead without any transfer of charge between the two normal metal leads. Conversely, we show that a nonlocal heat exchange between the normal leads is mediated by non-local Andreev reflection. We discuss the influence of finite Coulomb interaction and study under which conditions nonlocal power generation becomes possible, and when the Cooper-pair splitter can be employed as a cooling device.
We report an experimental study of Cooper pair splitting in an encapsulated graphene based multiterminal junction in the ballistic transport regime. Our device consists of two transverse junctions, namely the superconductor/graphene/superconductor and the normal metal/graphene/normal metal junctions. In this case, the electronic transport through one junction can be tuned by an applied bias along the other. We observe clear signatures of Cooper pair splitting in the local as well as nonlocal electronic transport measurements. Our experimental data can be very well described by using a modified Octavio-Tinkham-Blonder-Klapwijk model and a three-terminal beam splitter model.
Thermoelectric effect generating electricity from thermal gradient and vice versa appears in numerous generic applications. Recently, an original prospect of thermoelectricity arising from the nonlocal Cooper pair splitting (CPS) and the elastic co-tunneling (EC) in hybrid normal metal-superconductor-normal metal (NSN) structures was foreseen. Here we demonstrate experimentally the existence of non-local Seebeck effect in a graphene-based CPS device comprising two quantum dots connected to an aluminum superconductor and theoretically validate the observations. This non-local Seebeck effect offers an efficient tool for producing entangled electrons.