We report charge detection studies of a lateral double quantum dot with controllable charge states and tunable tunnel coupling. Using an integrated electrometer, we characterize the equilibrium state of a single electron trapped in the doubled-dot (artificial H2+ molecule) by measuring the average occupation of one dot. We present a model where the electrostatic coupling between the molecule and the sensor is taken into account explicitly. From the measurements, we extract the temperature of the isolated electron and the tunnel coupling energy. It is found that this coupling can be tuned between 0 and 60 micro electron-volt in our device.
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