Electron transport properties in a parallel double-quantum-dot structure with three-terminals are theoretically studied. By introducing a local Rashba spin-orbit coupling, we find that an incident electron from one terminal can select a specific terminal to depart from the quantum dots according to its spin state. As a result, spin polarization and spin separation can be simultaneously realized in this structure. And spin polarizations in different terminals can be inverted by tuning the structure parameters. The underlying quantum interference that gives rise to such a result is analyzed in the language of Feynman paths for the electron transmission.
The electrostatic interaction between two capacitively-coupled metal double-dots is studied at low temperatures. Experiments show that when the Coulomb blockade is lifted by applying appropriate gate biases to both double-dots, the conductance through each double-dot becomes significantly lower than when only one double-dot is conducting. A master equation is derived for the system and the results obtained agree well with the experimental data. The model suggests that the conductance lowering in each double-dot is caused by a single-electron tunneling in the other double-dot. Here, each double…
We investigate a symmetrical double quantum dot system serially attached to the leads. The emphasis is on the numerical analysis of finite inter-dot tunneling in the presence of inter-dot repulsive capacitive coupling. The results reveal the competition between extended Kondo phases and local singlet phases in spin and charge degrees of freedom. The corresponding phase diagram is determined quantitatively.
We investigate entanglement between electrons in serially coupled double quantum dots attached to non interacting leads. In addition to local repulsion we consider the influence of capacitive inter-dot interaction. We show how the competition between extended Kondo and local singlet phases determines the ground state and thereby the entanglement.
We study transport through a quantum dot side-coupled to two parallel Luttinger liquid leads in the presence of a Coulombic dot-lead interaction. This geometry enables an exact treatment of the inter-lead Coulomb interactions. We find that for dots symmetrically disposed between the two leads the correlation of charge fluctuations between the two leads can lead to an enhancement of the current at the Coulomb-blockade edge and even to a negative differential conductance. Moving the dot off center or separating the wires further converts the enhancement to a suppression.
A two quantum-dot device is coupled in parallel for studying the competition between the pseudo-spin Kondo effect and strongly hybridized molecular states. Cryogenic measurements are performed in the regime of weak coupling of the two dots to lead states under linear transport conditions. Detailed simulations verify the finding of the transition between the two different regimes.
We study coupled semiconductor quantum dots theoretically through a generalized Hubbard approach, where intra- and inter-dot Coulomb Correlation, as well as tunneling effects are described on the basis of realistic electron wavefunctions. We find that the ground-state configuration of vertically-coupled double dots undergoes non-trivial quantum transitions as a function of the inter-dot distance d; at intermediate values of d we predict a new phase that should be observable in the addition spectra and in the magnetization changes.
Via projection operator technology, we restrict our discussion of Double Quantum Dots system in subspaces of fixed electron population. When an incident electron tries to pass through the dots, we find transmission peaks occur, if the system energy scans through eigen-levels in one-more-electron higher subspace of the dots. Also, we find some selection rules for this resonant transmission. We attribute some of these rules to the differences between many-electron bonding states and anti-bonding states.
We analyze the interactions between two Kondo Quantum Dots connected to a Rashba-active Quantum Wire. We find that the Kondo-doublet interaction, at an inter-dot distance of the order of the wire Fermi length, is over an order of magnitude greater than the RKKY interaction. The effects induced on the Kondo-doublet interaction by the wire spin-orbit coupling can be used to control the Quantum Dots spin-spin correlation. These results imply that the widely used assumption that the RKKY is the dominant interaction between Anderson impurities must be revised.
We study theoretically the out-of-equilibrium transport properties of a double quantum dot system in the Kondo regime. We model the system by means of a two-impurity Anderson Hamiltonian. The transport properties are characterized by Kondo effect properties, however, superimposed them, the system possesses novel non-linear bistability behavior.
We employ density functional calculated eigenstates as a basis for exact diagonalization studies of semiconductor double quantum dots, with two electrons, through the transition from the symmetric bias regime to the regime where both electrons occupy the same dot. We calculate the singlet-triplet splitting $J(ε)$ as a function of bias detuning $ε$ and explain its functional shape with a simple, double anti-crossing model. A voltage noise suppression "sweet spot," where $dJ(ε)/dε=0$ with nonzero $J(ε)$, is predicted and shown to be tunable with a magnetic field $B$.
We report our study of the I-V curves in the transport through the quantum dot when an additional quantum dot lying in the Kondo regime is side-connected to it. Due to the Kondo scattering off the effective spin on a side-connected quantum dot the conductance is suppressed at low temperatures and at low source-drain bias voltages. This zero-bias anomaly is understood as enhanced Kondo scattering with decreasing temperature.
Double quantum dots offer unique possibilities for the study of many-body correlations. A system containing one Kondo dot and one effectively noninteracting dot maps onto a single-impurity Anderson model with a structured (nonconstant) density of states. Numerical renormalization-group calculations show that while band filtering through the resonant dot splits the Kondo resonance, the singlet ground state is robust. The system can also be continuously tuned to create a pseudogapped density of states and access a quantum critical point separating Kondo and non-Kondo phases.
Strong electron and spin correlations are studied in parallel-coupled double quantum dots with interdot spin superexchange $J$. In the Kondo regime with {\it}{degenerate} dot energy levels, a coherent transport occurs at zero temperature, where two entangled (bonding and antibonding) resonances are formed near the Fermi energy. When increasing $J$ or the dot-lead parallel-coupling \QTR{it}{asymmetry} ratio $Γ_{2}/Γ_{1}$, a swap between two entangled resonances occurs and the line shapes of the linear conductance are interchanged. The zero-bias differential conductance shows a peak at the criti…
The transport properties of a double quantum-dot device with one of the dots coupled to perfect conductors are analyzed using the numerical renormalization group technique and slave-boson mean-field theory. The coupling between the dots strongly influences the transport through the system leading to a non-monotonic dependence of the conductance as a function of the temperature and the magnetic field. For small inter-dot coupling and parameters such that both dots are in the Kondo regime, there is a two-stage screening of the dot's magnetic moments that is reflected in the conductance. In an in…
It is shown that the resonance Kondo tunneling through a double quantum dot (DQD) with even occupation and singlet ground state may arise at a strong bias, which compensates the energy of singlet/triplet excitation. Using the renormalization group technique we derive scaling equations and calculate the differential conductance as a function of an auxiliary dc-bias for parallel DQD.
In a recent paper [Physica E 39 (2007) 214, arXiv:0708.1842v1] Crisan, Grosu and Tifrea revisited the problem of the conductance through a double quantum dot molecule connected to electrodes in a T-shape configuration. The authors obtained an expression for the conductance that disagrees with previous results in the literature. We point out an error in their derivation of the conductance formula and show that it gives unphysical results even for non-interacting quantum dots.
We investigate coherent electron transport through a parallel circuit of two quantum dots, each of which has a single tunable energy level. Electrons tunneling via each dot from the left lead interfere with each other at the right lead. It is shown that due to the quantum interference of tunneling electrons the double quantum dot device is magnetically polarized by coherent circulation of electrons on the closed path through the dots and the leads. Varying the energy level of each dot one can make the magnetic states of the device to be either {\em up-}, {\em non-}, or {\em down-} polarization…
Orbital Kondo effect in a system of two single-level quantum dots attached to external electron reservoirs is considered theoretically. The dots are coupled via direct hoping term and Coulomb interaction. The Kondo temperature is evaluated from the scaling approach and slave boson technique. The later method is also used to calculate linear conductance of the system. Nonlinear conductance, in turn, is calculated in terms of the nonequilibrium Green function formalism.
Based on numerical renormalization group calculations, we demonstrate that experimentally realized double quantum dots constitute a minimal thermoelectric generator. In the Kondo regime, one quantum dot acts as an n-type and the other one as a p-type thermoelectric device. Properly connected the double quantum dot provides a miniature power supply utilizing the thermal energy of the environment.
A double quantum dot is formed in a graphene nanoribbon device using three top gates. These gates independently change the number of electrons on each dot and tune the inter-dot coupling. Transport through excited states is observed in the weakly coupled double dot regime. We extract from the measurements all relevant capacitances of the double dot system, as well as the quantized level spacing.
Strong electron and spin correlations in a double-quantum-dot (DQD) can give rise to different quantum states. We observe a continuous transition from a Kondo state exhibiting a single-peak Kondo resonance to another exhibiting a double peak by increasing the inter-dot-coupling (t) in a parallel-coupled DQD. The transition into the double-peak state provides evidence for spin-entanglement between the excess-electron on each dot. Toward the transition, the peak splitting merges and becomes substantially smaller than t because of strong Coulomb effects. Our device tunability bodes well for futur…
We present Coulomb blockade measurements in a graphene double dot system. The coupling of the dots to the leads and between the dots can be tuned by graphene in-plane gates. The coupling is a non-monotonic function of the gate voltage. Using a purely capacitive model, we extract all relevant energy scales of the double dot system.
We demonstrate a hole double quantum dot in an undoped GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. The interdot coupling can be tuned over a wide range, from formation of a large single dot to two well-isolated quantum dots. Using charge sensing, we show the ability to completely empty the dot of holes and control the charge occupation in the few-hole regime. The device should allow for control of individual hole spins in single and double quantum dots in GaAs.
We report the computer-automated tuning of gate-defined semiconductor double quantum dots in GaAs heterostructures. We benchmark the algorithm by creating three double quantum dots inside a linear array of four quantum dots. The algorithm sets the correct gate voltages for all the gates to tune the double quantum dots into the single-electron regime. The algorithm only requires (1) prior knowledge of the gate design and (2) the pinch-off value of the single gate $T$ that is shared by all the quantum dots. This work significantly alleviates the user effort required to tune multiple quantum dot …
Absorption of energy quanta generated by quantum point contact results in the inelastic current through the double quantum dot placed nearby. In contrast to a single quantum dot, the inelastic current through the double quantum dot is sensitive to the energy dependence of the quantum point contact transmission, which can explain the experimentally observed features. We calculate the inelastic current as a function of microscopic parameters of the circuit.
We study theoretically the interaction between the charge dynamics of a few-electron double quantum dot and a capacitively-coupled AFM cantilever, a setup realized in several recent experiments. We demonstrate that the dot-induced frequency shift and damping of the cantilever can be used as a sensitive probe of coherent inter-dot tunnelling, and that these effects can be used to quantitatively extract both the magnitude of the coherent interdot tunneling and (in some cases) the value of the double-dot T_1 time. We also show how the adiabatic modulation of the double-dot eigenstates by the cant…
We observed lifting of Coulomb blockade in GaAs vertical double quantum dot with low potential barriers, induced by cotunneling mechanisms at dilution fridge temperature of 10 mK. Several distinct features were observed, compared to single dot case, and appropriate explanation for them was given
We analyze the magnetic and transport properties of a double quantum dot coupled to superconducting leads. In addition to the possible phase transition to a $π$ state, already present in the single dot case, this system exhibits a richer magnetic behavior due to the competition between Kondo and inter-dot antiferromagnetic coupling. We obtain results for the Josephson current which may help to understand recent experiments on superconductor-metallofullerene dimer junctions. We show that in such a system the Josephson effect can be used to control its magnetic configuration.
We investigate sequential tunneling transport through a semiconductor double quantum dot structure by combining a simple microscopic quantum confinement model with a Mott-Hubbard type correlation model. We calculate nonperturbatively the evolution of the Coulomb blockade oscillations as a function of the interdot barrier conductance, obtaining good qualitative agreement with the experimental data over the whole tunneling regime from the weak-coupling individual dot to the strong-coupling coherent double-dot molecular system.
We studied experimentally the dynamics of the exchange interaction between two antiparallel electron spins in a so-called metastable double quantum dot where coupling to the electron reservoirs can be ignored. We demonstrate that the level of control of such a double dot is higher than in conventional double dots. In particular, it allows to couple coherently two electron spins in an efficient manner following a scheme initially proposed by Loss and DiVincenzo. The present study demonstrates that metastable quantum dots are a possible route to increase the number of coherently coupled quantum …
We report on millikelvin charge sensing measurements of a silicon double-dot system fabricated by phosphorus ion implantation. An aluminum single-electron transistor (SET) is capacitively coupled to each of the implanted dots enabling the charging behavior of the double-dot system to be studied independently of current transport. Using an electrostatic gate, the interdot coupling can be tuned from weak to strong coupling. In the weak interdot coupling regime, the system exhibits well-defined double-dot charging behavior. By contrast, in the strong interdot coupling regime, the system behaves a…
A few-electron double quantum dot was fabricated using metal-oxide-semiconductor(MOS)-compatible technology and low-temperature transport measurements were performed to study the energy spectrum of the device. The double dot structure is electrically tunable, enabling the inter-dot coupling to be adjusted over a wide range, as observed in the charge stability diagram. Resonant single-electron tunneling through ground and excited states of the double dot was clearly observed in bias spectroscopy measurements.
Electron transport experiments on two lateral quantum dots coupled in series are reviewed. An introduction to the charge stability diagram is given in terms of the electrochemical potentials of both dots. Resonant tunneling experiments show that the double dot geometry allows for an accurate determination of the intrinsic lifetime of discrete energy states in quantum dots. The evolution of discrete energy levels in magnetic field is studied. The resolution allows to resolve avoided crossings in the spectrum of a quantum dot. With microwave spectroscopy it is possible to probe the transition fr…
Transport spectroscopy of two-spin states in a double quantum dot can be performed by an AC electric field which tunes the energy detuning. However, a problem arises when the transition rate between the states is small and, consequently, the AC-induced current is suppressed. Here, we show that if the AC field tunes the inter-dot tunnel barrier then for large detuning the transition rate increases drastically resulting in high current. Multi-photon resonances are enhanced by orders of magnitude. Our study demonstrates an efficient way for fast two-spin transitions.
A double quantum dot charge detector, with one dot Coulomb coupled to the electron to be detected and the other modulated by a time-dependent plunger voltage, is analyzed in a minimal model. The signal and noise of the detector are calculated by a standard master equation and MacDonald formula technique. We find a dip in the noise spectrum at the double Rabi frequency of the double dot, defining the bandwidth available for detecting charges in motion.
We investigate the competition between pair entanglement of two spin qubits in double quantum dots attached to leads with various topologies and the separate entanglement of each spin with nearby electrodes. Universal behavior of entanglement is demonstrated in dependence on the mutual interactions between the spin qubits, the coupling to their environment, temperature and magnetic field. As a consequence of quantum phase transition an abrupt switch between fully entangled and unentangled states takes place when the dots are coupled in parallel.
We investigate experimentally the influence of current flow through two independent quantum point contacts to a nearby double quantum dot realized in a GaAs-AlGaAs heterostructure. The observed current through the double quantum dot can be explained in terms of coupling to a bosonic bath. The temperature of the bath depends on the power generated by the current flow through the quantum point contact. We identify the dominant absorption and emission mechanisms in a double quantum dot as an interaction with acoustic phonons. The experiment excludes coupling of a double quantum dot to shot noise …
We present quantum transport measurements of interacting parallel quantum dots formed in the strands of a carbon nanotube rope. In this molecular quantum dot system, transport is dominated by one quantum dot, while additional resonances from parallel side dots appear, which exhibit a weak gate coupling. This differential gating effect provides a tunability of the quantum dot system with only one gate electrode and provides control over the carbon nanotube strand that carries the current. By tuning the system to different states we use quantum transport as a spectroscopic tool to investigate th…
We study electron transport through double quantum dots in series. The tunnel coupling of the discrete dot levels to external leads causes a shift of their energy. This energy renormalization affects the transport characteristics even in the limit of weak dot-lead coupling, when sequential transport dominates. We propose an experimental setup which reveals the renormalization effects in either the current-voltage characteristics or in the stability diagram.
We analyze the zero temperature conductance of a parallel T-shaped double quantum dot system. We present an analytical expression for the conductance of the system in terms of the total number of electrons in both quantum dots. Our results confirm that the system's conductance is strongly influenced by the dot which is not directly connected to the leads. We discuss our results in connection with similar results reported in the literature.
We study the dynamics of a charge qubit that is capacitively coupled to an open double quantum dot. Depending on the qubit state, the transport through the open quantum dot may be resonant or off-resonant, such that the qubit affects the current through the open double dot. We relate the initial qubit state to the magnitude of an emerging transient current peak. The relation between these quantities enables the readout of not only the charge but also the phase of the qubit.
In this paper we introduce a simple phenomenological model of the conduction between a couple of serial or parallel quantum dots. This model is extended to arbitrary of number and to a square array of quantum dots. The local potential is computed taking into account the net charge at the quantum dot. Master equation are presented for total current and charge number N taking considering both the local potential and the local current. Interesting results are reported, namely the Negative Differential Resistance for serial quantum dots as well as resonant conductance. A paradoxical asymmetric cur…
We study the spin-dependent transport properties of a spin valve based on a double quantum dot. Each quantum dot is assumed to be strongly coupled to its own ferromagnetic lead, while the coupling between the dots is relatively weak. The current flowing through the system is determined within the perturbation theory in the hopping between the dots, whereas the spectrum of a quantum dot-ferromagnetic lead subsystem is determined by means of the numerical renormalization group method. The spin-dependent charge fluctuations between ferromagnets and quantum dots generate an effective exchange fiel…
We present low temperature transport measurements on double quantum dots in InAs nanowires grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy. Two dots in series are created by lithographically defined top-gates with a procedure involving no extra insulating layer. We demonstrate the full tunability from strong to weak coupling between the dots. The quantum mechanical nature of the coupling leads to the formation of a molecular state extending over both dots. The excitation spectra of the individual dots are observable by their signatures in the nonlinear transport.
We report electrical transport measurements through a semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) with three additional top-gates. At low temperatures the system acts as a double quantum dot with large inter-dot tunnel coupling allowing for the observation of tunnel-coupled molecular states extending over the whole double-dot system. We precisely extract the tunnel coupling and identify the molecular states by the sequential-tunneling line shape of the resonances in differential conductance.
We analyze transport through both a double quantum dot and a triple quantum dot with inhomogeneous Zeeman splittings in the presence of crossed dc and ac magnetic fields. We find that strongly spin-polarized current can be achieved by tuning the relative energies of the Zeeman-split levels of the dots, by means of electric gate voltages: depending on the energy level detuning, the double quantum dot works either as spin-up or spin-down filter. We show that a triple quantum dot in series under crossed dc and ac magnetic fields can act not only as spin-filter but also as spin-inverter.
We increase the isolation of a superconducting double dot from its environment by galvanically isolating it from any electrodes. We probe it using high frequency reflectometry techniques, find 2e-periodic behaviour, and characterise the energy structure of its charge states. By modelling the response of the device, we determine the quasiparticle poisoning rate to be significantly worse than that of a unisolated double dot, and conclude that quasiparticle exchange between the dot and the leads is an important relaxation mechanism.
It was proposed that a double quantum dot can be used to be a detector of spin bias. Electron transport through a double quantum dot is investigated theoretically when a pure spin bias is applied on two conducting leads contacted to the quantum dot. It is found that the spin polarization in the left and right dots may be induced spontaneously while the intra-dot levels are located within the spin bias window and breaks the left-right symmetry of the two quantum dots. As a result, a large current emerges. For an open external circuit an charge bias instead of a charge current will be induced in…
We investigate quantum photovoltaic effect in double quantum dots by applying nonequilibrium quantum master equation. The drastic suppression of the photovoltaic current is observed near the open circuit voltage, which leads to the large filling factor. We find that there always exists an optimal inter-dot tunneling that significantly enhances the photovoltaic current. The maximal output power will also be obtained around the optimal inter-dot tunneling. Moreover, the open circuit voltage approximately behaves as the product of the eigen-level gap and the Carnot efficiency. These results sugge…
Single-shot measurement of the charge arrangement and spin state of a double quantum dot are reported, with measurement times down to ~ 100 ns. Sensing uses radio-frequency reflectometry of a proximal quantum dot in the Coulomb blockade regime. The sensor quantum dot is up to 30 times more sensitive than a comparable quantum point contact sensor, and yields three times greater signal to noise in rf single-shot measurements. Numerical modeling is qualitatively consistent with experiment and shows that the improved sensitivity of the sensor quantum dot results from reduced screening and lifetime…
We report on non-adiabatic transport through a double quantum dot under irradiation of surface acoustic waves generated on-chip. At low excitation powers, absorption and emission of single and multiple phonons is observed. At higher power, sequential phonon assisted tunneling processes excite the double dot in a highly non-equilibrium state. The present system is attractive for studying electron-phonon interaction with piezoelectric coupling.
We study the spectrum and magnetic properties of double quantum dots in the lowest Landau level for different values of the hopping and Zeeman parameters by means of exact diagonalization techniques in systems of N=6 and N=7 electrons and filling factor close to 2. We compare our results with those obtained in double quantum layers and single quantum dots. The Kohn theorem is also discussed.
We apply an elementary measurement scheme to calculate the electronic triplet-singlet transition mediated by hyperfine interaction in a double quantum dot. We show how the local character of the hyperfine interaction and the nuclear back-action process (flip-flop) are crucial to cancel destructive interferences of the triplet-singlet transition probability. It is precisely this cancellation which differentiates the hyperfine interaction from an anisotropic magnetic field which mixes the triplet and the singlet eigenstates.
We report on a double quantum dot which is formed in a width-modulated etched bilayer graphene nanoribbon. A number of lateral graphene gates enable us to tune the quantum dot energy levels and the tunneling barriers of the device over a wide energy range. Charge stability diagrams and in particular individual triple point pairs allow to study the tunable capacitive inter-dot coupling energy as well as the spectrum of the electronic excited states on a number of individual triple points. We extract a mutual capacitive inter-dot coupling in the range of 2 - 6 meV and an inter-dot tunnel couplin…
We analyze the photovoltaic current through a double quantum dot system coupled to a high-quality driven microwave resonator. The conversion of photons in the resonator to electronic excitations produces a current flow even at zero bias across the leads of the double quantum dot system. We demonstrate that due to the quantum nature of the electromagnetic field in the resonator, the photovoltaic current exhibits a double peak dependence on the frequency $ω$ of an external microwave source. The distance between the peaks is determined by the strength of interaction between photons in the resonat…
We analytically investigate the non-equilibrium pumping for a double quantum dots system on the basis of the quantum master equation (QME), where the double quantum dots are connected to two external leads by the spin coupling. Each of leads has two tunable parameters, temperature and chemical potential. Using QME formalism, we obtain an analytical expression of the Berry-like phase for eigenstate of the QME in the parameter space. We show that the Berry-like curvature is non zero in the whole region in the parameter space. We also show that the Berry-like curvature vanishes in the case of sin…
We investigate theoretically electron transfer in a doble dot in a situation where it is governed by nuclear magnetic field: This has been recently achieved in experiment. We show how to partially compensate the nuclear magnetic field to restore Spin Blockade.
We study two double dot systems, one with dots in parallel and one with dots in series, and argue they admit an exact solution via the Bethe ansatz. In the case of parallel dots we exploit the exact solution to extract the behavior of the linear response conductance. The linear response conductance of the parallel dot system possesses multiple Kondo effects, including a Kondo effect enhanced by a nonpertubative antiferromagnetic RKKY interaction, has conductance zeros in the mixed valence regime, and obeys a non-trivial form of the Friedel sum rule.
We measure transport at finite bias through a double quantum dot formed by top-gates in an InAs nanowire. Pauli spin-bockade is confirmed with several electrons in the dot. This is expected due to the small exchange interactions in InAs and the large singlet-triplet splitting, which can be measured and tuned by a gate voltage.
