No Arabic abstract
We measure the spin splitting in a magnetic field $B$ of localized states in single-electron transistors using a new method, inelastic spin-flip cotunneling. Because it involves only internal excitations, this technique gives the most precise value of the Zeeman energy $Delta = ZeemanE$. In the same devices we also measure the splitting with $B$ of the Kondo peak in differential conductance. The Kondo splitting appears only above a threshold field as predicted by theory. However, the magnitude of the Kondo splitting at high fields exceeds $2 ZeemanE$ in disagreement with theory.
Single particle interference lies at the heart of quantum mechanics. The archetypal double-slit experiment has been repeated with electrons in vacuum up to the more massive $C_{60}$ molecules. Mesoscopic rings threaded by a magnetic flux provide the solid-state analogous. Intra-molecular interference has been recently discussed in molecular junctions. Here we propose to exploit interference to achieve all-electrical control of a single electron spin in quantum dots, a highly desirable property for spintronics and spin-qubit applications. The device consists of an interference single electron transistor (ISET), where destructive interference between orbitally degenerate electronic states produces current blocking at specific bias voltages. We show that in the presence of parallel polarized ferromagnetic leads the interplay between interference and the exchange coupling on the system generates an effective energy renormalization yielding different blocking biases for majority and minority spins. Hence, by tuning the bias voltage full control over the spin of the trapped electron is achieved.
We demonstrate a tunable negative differential resistance controlled by spin blockade in single electron transistors. The single electron transistors containing a few electrons and spin polarized source and drain contacts were formed in GaAs/GaAlAs heterojunctions using metallic gates. Coulomb blockade measurements performed as a function of applied source-drain bias, electron number and magnetic field reveal well defined regimes where a decrease in the current is observed with increasing bias. We establish that the origin of the negative differential regime is the spin-polarized detection of electrons combined with a long spin relaxation time in the dot. These results indicate new functionalities that may be utilized in nano-spintronic devices in which the spin state is electro-statically controlled via the electron occupation number.
We report Kondo resonances in the conduction of single-molecule transistors based on transition metal coordination complexes. We find Kondo temperatures in excess of 50 K, comparable to those in purely metallic systems. The observed gate dependence of the Kondo temperature is inconsistent with observations in semiconductor quantum dots and a simple single-dot-level model. We discuss possible explanations of this effect, in light of electronic structure calculations.
Kondo effect offers an important paradigm to understand strong correlated many-body physics. Although under intensive study, some of important properties of Kondo effect, in systems where both itinerant coupling and localized coupling play significant roles, are still elusive. Here we report evolution and universality of two stage Kondo effect, the simplest form where both couplings are important using single molecule transistor devices incorporating Manganese phthalocyanine molecules. Kondo temperature T* of two-stage Kondo effect evolves linearly against effective interaction of involved two spins. Observed Kondo resonance shows universal quadratic dependence with all adjustable parameters: temperature, magnetic field and biased voltages. The difference in nonequilibrium conductance of two stage Kondo effect to spin 1/2 Kondo effect is also identified. Messages learned in this study fill in directive experimental evidence of evolution of two-stage Kondo resonance near quantum phase transition point, and help in understanding sophisticated molecular electron spectroscopy in strong correlation regime.
We propose a novel hybrid single-electron device for reprogrammable low-power logic operations, the magnetic single-electron transistor (MSET). The device consists of an aluminium single-electron transistors with a GaMnAs magnetic back-gate. Changing between different logic gate functions is realized by reorienting the magnetic moments of the magnetic layer which induce a voltage shift on the Coulomb blockade oscillations of the MSET. We show that we can arbitrarily reprogram the function of the device from an n-type SET for in-plane magnetization of the GaMnAs layer to p-type SET for out-of-plane magnetization orientation. Moreover, we demonstrate a set of reprogrammable Boolean gates and its logical complement at the single device level. Finally, we propose two sets of reconfigurable binary gates using combinations of two MSETs in a pull-down network.