We report a thermally activated metastability in a GaAs double quantum dot exhibiting real-time charge switching in diamond shaped regions of the charge stability diagram. Accidental charge traps and sensor back action are excluded as the origin of t
he switching. We present an extension of the canonical double dot theory based on an intrinsic, thermal electron exchange process through the reservoirs, giving excellent agreement with the experiment. The electron spin is randomized by the exchange process, thus facilitating fast, gate-controlled spin initialization. At the same time, this process sets an intrinsic upper limit to the spin relaxation time.
We present Silver-epoxy filters combining excellent microwave attenuation with efficient wire thermalization, suitable for low temperature quantum transport experiments. Upon minimizing parasitic capacitances, the attenuation reaches >100 dB above ~1
50 MHz and - when capacitors are added - already above ~30 MHz. We measure the device electron temperature with a GaAs quantum dot and demonstrate excellent filter performance. Upon improving the sample holder and adding a second filtering stage, we obtain electron temperatures as low as 7.5 +/- 0.2 mK in metallic Coulomb blockade thermometers.
We present transport measurements of cleaved edge overgrowth GaAs quantum wires. The conductance of the first mode reaches 2 e^2/h at high temperatures T > 10 K, as expected. As T is lowered, the conductance is gradually reduced to 1 e^2/h, becoming
T-independent at T < 0.1 K, while the device cools far below 0.1 K. This behavior is seen in several wires, is independent of density, and not altered by moderate magnetic fields B. The conductance reduction by a factor of two suggests lifting of the electron spin degeneracy in absence of B. Our results are consistent with theoretical predictions for helical nuclear magnetism in the Luttinger liquid regime.
