The Kondo effect and superconductivity are both prime examples of many-body phenomena. Here we report transport measurements on a carbon nanotube quantum dot coupled to superconducting leads that show a delicate interplay between both effects. We demonstrate that the superconductivity of the leads does not destroy the Kondo correlations on the quantum dot when the Kondo temperature, which varies for different single-electron states, exceeds the superconducting gap energy.
We demonstrate a tunable Kondo effect realized in small quantum dots. We can switch our dot from a Kondo impurity to a non-Kondo system as the number of electrons on the dot is changed from odd to even. We show that the Kondo temperature can be tuned by means of a gate voltage as a single-particle energy state nears the Fermi energy. Measurements of the temperature and magnetic field dependence of a Coulomb-blockaded dot show good agreement with predictions of both equilibrium and non-equilibrium Kondo effects.
We study correlations of spin currents flowing through a Coulomb blockaded quantum dot. While vanishing for elastic co-tunneling, these correlations develop as the quantum dot enters the Kondo regime. They are a manifestation of Kondo physics in quantum dots. We demonstrate that the spin current correlator is non-perturbative in the Kondo coupling.
We present transport measurements of the Kondo effect in a double quantum dot charged with only one or two electrons, respectively. For the one electron case we observe a surprising quasi-periodic oscillation of the Kondo conductance as a function of a small perpendicular magnetic field |B| \lesssim 50mT. We discuss possible explanations of this effect and interpret it by means of a fine tuning of the energy mismatch of the single dot levels of the two quantum dots. The observed degree of control implies important consequences for applications in quantum information processing.
The observation of the Kondo effect in quantum dots has provided new opportunities to finally observe the controversial Kondo screening cloud. We study how screening cloud effects appear in the conductance through a quantum wire containing a quantum dot when the length of the wire is comparable to the size of the screening cloud.
We investigate low-temperature transport characteristics of a side-coupled double quantum dot where only one of the dots is directly connected to the leads. We observe Fano resonances, which arise from interference between discrete levels in one dot and the Kondo effect, or cotunneling in general, in the other dot, playing the role of a continuum. The Kondo resonance is partially suppressed by destructive Fano interference, reflecting novel Fano-Kondo competition. We also present a theoretical calculation based on the tight-binding model with slave boson mean field approximation, which qualita…
Anderson impurity model for semiconductor quantum dot is extended to take into account both particle and hole branches of charge excitations. It is shown that in dots with even number of electrons where the Kondo effect is absent in the ground state, novel midgap excitonic states emerge in the energy spectrum due to Kondo-type shake-up processes. The relevance of the model to rare earth ions adsorbed on metallic surfaces is discussed.
The Kondo effect in coupled quantum dots is investigated theoretically under magnetic fields. We show that the magnetoconductance (MC) illustrates peak structures of the Kondo resonant spectra. When the dot-dot tunneling coupling $V_C$ is smaller than the dot-lead coupling $Δ$ (level broadening), the Kondo resonant levels appear at the Fermi level ($E_F$). The Zeeman splitting of the levels weakens the Kondo effect, which results in a negative MC. When $V_{C}$ is larger than $Δ$, the Kondo resonances form bonding and anti-bonding levels, located below and above $E_F$, respectively. We observe …
The backaction of quantum measurement on the Kondo effect in a quantum dot system is investigated by considering continuous projective measurement of singly occupied states of a quantum dot. We elucidate the qualitative feature of the Kondo effect under quantum measurement and determine effective Kondo temperature affected by the measurement. The Kondo resonance in the spectral function is suppressed when the measurement strength reaches the energy scale of the Kondo temperature without measurement. Through the spin susceptibility, we identify the generalized Kondo temperature under continuous…
We present measurements on the Kondo-effect in a small quantum dot connected strongly to one lead and weakly to the other. The conductance of the dot reveals an offset of the Kondo resonance at zero magnetic field. While the resonance persists in the negative bias regime, it is suppressed in the opposite direction. This demonstrates the pinning of the Kondo resonance to the Fermi levels of the left and right lead. As an outlook we exploit the spin blockade effect to gain information about the spin state of the quantum dot in the Kondo regime.
We demonstrate that the external irradiation brings decoherence in the spin states of the quantum dot. This effect cuts off the Kondo anomaly in conductance even at zero temperature. We evaluate the dependence of the DC conductance in the Kondo regime on the power of irradiation, this dependence being determined by the decoherence.
We report a strong Kondo effect (Kondo temperature ~ 4K) at high magnetic field in a selective area growth semiconductor quantum dot. The Kondo effect is ascribed to a singlet-triplet transition in the ground state of the dot. At the transition, the low-temperature conductance approaches the unitary limit. Away from the transition, for low bias voltages and temperatures, the conductance is sharply reduced. The observed behavior is compared to predictions for a two-stage Kondo effect in quantum dots coupled to single-channel leads.
We present a theoretical analysis of a possible route for directly detecting Kondo resonances in local density of states (LDOS) of an interacting quantum dot. By very weakly couple a third and/or a fourth lead to a two-probe quantum dot and measuring differential conductance through these extra links, we show that Kondo peaks directly map onto the differential conductance measured from the third link. We analyze the conditions by which this detection of Kondo peaks in LDOS is possible.
We present low-temperature electron transport measurements on a single-wall carbon nanotube quantum dot exhibiting Kondo resonances at low temperature. Contrary to the usual behavior for the spin-1/2 Kondo effect we find that the temperature dependence of the zero bias conductance is nonmonotonic. In nonlinear transport measurements low-energy splittings of the Kondo resonances are observed at zero magnetic field. We suggest that these anomalies reflect interactions between the nanotube and a magnetic (catalyst) particle. The nanotube device may effectively act as a ferromagnetically contacted…
We study the response of a two-channel Kondo quantum dot device proposed by Y. Oreg and D. Goldhaber-Gordon [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 90}, 136602 (2003)] to a spin-bias applied across one of its channels formed by Fermi liquid reservoirs weakly coupled to a spin-1/2 quantum dot. When the temperature $T<T_K$, the Kondo temperature of the device, the spin conductance depends on the Kondo coupling of the dot spin to the other channel in an anomalous manner. For isotropic Kondo couplings to the two channels the spin conductance is quantized for $T\ll T_K$ characterizing the two-channel Kondo fixed po…
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.
The strong sensitivity of the transmission phase through a quantum dot embedded into one arm of a two-wave Aharonov-Bohm interferometer to the Kondo effect is explained. The enhancement takes place because of the buildup of the exchange scattering on the dot due to Kondo correlations even much above $T_{K}$. The enhanced exchange competes with the potential scattering, which is always weak. Both cases of the Anderson impurity model and a multilevel quantum dot are considered. In the latter case in addition to the description of peculiar phase behavior a mechanism leading to ferromagnetic Kondo…
We review mechanisms of low-temperature electronic transport through a quantum dot weakly coupled to two conducting leads. Transport in this case is dominated by electron-electron interaction. At temperatures moderately lower than the charging energy of the dot, the linear conductance is suppressed by the Coulomb blockade. Upon further lowering of the temperature, however, the conductance may start to increase again due to the Kondo effect. We concentrate on lateral quantum dot systems and discuss the conductance in a broad temperature range, which includes the Kondo regime.
The Kondo effect in coupled quantum dots is investigated from the viewpoint of transmission spectroscopy using the slave-boson formalism of the Anderson model. The antiferromagnetic spin-spin coupling $J$ between the dots is taken into account. Conductance $G$ through the dots connected in a series is characterized by the competition between the dot-dot tunneling coupling $V_{C}$ and the level broadening $Δ$ in the dots (dot-lead coupling). When $V_{C}/Δ< 1$, the Kondo resonance is formed between each dot and lead, which is replaced by a spin-singlet state in the dots at low gate voltages. The…
We show that the numerical method [M.E. Torio, K. Hallberg, A.H. Ceccatto, and C.R. Proetto, Phys. Rev. B 65, 085302 (2002), cond-mat/0108167v2] does not reproduce correctly the Kondo physics in quantum dot systems with interaction.
In this article, we review recent work about time dependent quantum transport through a quantum dot in Kondo regime. This represents a major step towards designing next generation transistors that are expected to replace current MOSFET's in a few years. We first discuss the effects of the density of states of gold contacts on the instantaneous conductance of an asymmetrically coupled quantum dot that is abruptly moved into Kondo regime via a gate voltage. Next, we investigate the effect of strong electron-phonon coupling on the dot on the instantaneous conductance. Finally, we discuss thermoel…
A detailed study of the low-temperature physics of an interacting double quantum dot system in a T-shape configuration is presented. Each quantum dot is modeled by a single Anderson impurity and we include an inter-dot electron-electron interaction to account for capacitive coupling that may arise due to the proximity of the quantum dots. By employing a numerical renormalization group approach to a multi-impurity Anderson model, we study the thermodynamical and transport properties of the system in and out of the Kondo regime. We find that the two-stage-Kondo effect reported in previous works …
Scaling laws and universality play an important role in our understanding of critical phenomena and the Kondo effect. Here we present measurements of non-equilibrium transport through a single-channel Kondo quantum dot at low temperature and bias. We find that the low-energy Kondo conductance is consistent with universality between temperature and bias and characterized by a quadratic scaling exponent, as expected for the spin-1/2 Kondo effect. The non-equilibrium Kondo transport measurements are well-described by a universal scaling function with two scaling parameters.
Quantum dots in the quantum Hall regime can have pairs of single Slater determinant states that are degenerate in energy. We argue that these pairs of many body states may give rise to a Kondo effect which can be mapped into an ordinary Kondo effect in a fictitious magnetic field. We report on several properties of this Kondo effect using scaling and numerical renormalization group analysis. We suggest an experiment to investigate this Kondo effect.
We consider electrons confined to a quantum dot interacting antiferromagnetically with a spin-$\half$ Kondo impurity. The electrons also interact among themselves ferromagnetically with a dimensionless coupling $\tilde{J}$, where $\tilde{J}=1$ denotes the bulk Stoner transition. We show that as $\tilde{J}$ approaches 1 there is a regime with enhanced Kondo correlations, followed by one where the Kondo effect is destroyed and impurity is spin polarized opposite to the dot electrons. The most striking signature of the first, Stoner-enhanced Kondo regime, is that a Zeeman field increases the Kond…
The transport properties of an ac-driving quantum dot in the Kondo regime are studied by the Floquet-Green's function method with slave-boson infinite-$U$ noncrossing approximation. Our results show that the Kondo peak of the local density of states is robust against weak ac gate modulation. Significant suppression of the Kondo peak can be observed when the ac gate field becomes strong. The photon-assisted noise of Kondo resonance as a function of dc voltage does not show singularities which are expected for noninteracting resonant quantum dot. These findings suggest that one may make use of t…
Electron tunneling through a double quantum dot molecule side attached to a quantum wire, in the Kondo regime, is studied. The mean-field finite-U slave-boson formalism is used to obtain the solution of the problem. We found conductance cancelations when the molecular energies of the side attached double quantum-dot cross the Fermi energy. We investigate the many body molecular Kondo states as a function of the parameters of the system.
We report theoretical investigations of indirectly coupled double quantum dots (QD) side connected to an one-dimensional quantum wire. Due to quantum interference controlled by the parameter $k_F L$, with $k_F$ the Fermi wave number of the wire and $L$ the distance between the two QDs, distinctly different Kondo resonances are predicted depending on the range of $k_F L$. A true bound Kondo states is found while an anomalous Kondo resonance gives rise to both reduction and enhancement of conductance.
We analyze the transport properties of a double quantum dot device in the side-coupled configuration. A small quantum dot (QD), having a single relevant electronic level, is coupled to source and drain electrodes. A larger QD, whose multilevel nature is considered, is tunnel-coupled to the small QD. A Fermi liquid analysis shows that the low temperature conductance of the device is determined by the total electronic occupation of the double QD. When the small dot is in the Kondo regime, an even number of electrons in the large dot leads to a conductance that reaches the unitary limit, while fo…
In this work we analyze how coherent transport through a Quantum Dot (QD) in the Kondo regime is affected by the weak capacitive interaction with a nearby biased Quantum Point Contact (QPC). We find that when the QD-QPC interaction is weak the width of the Kondo resonance is hardly affected by it. However, the spectral weight of the Kondo peak is reduced leading to an observable suppression of the conductance and the elastic transmission probability through the QD.
We investigate the Kondo effect in a structure which is constructed by embedding one quantum dot between a normal metal and a \emph{DIII}-class topological superconductor supporting Majorana doublets at its ends. It is observed that Kondo correlation occurs between the localized state in the dot and two continuum states simultaneously, i.e., the continuum state in the metal and the continuum Andreev reflection state between the metal and topological superconductor. As a result, the Kondo model Hamiltonian is topologically protected by the $SU(2)_s\rtimes Z_2^T$ symmetry. Besides, the Kondo tem…
Exchange interaction within a quantum dot strongly affects the transport through it in the Kondo regime. In a striking difference with the results of the conventional model, where this interaction is neglected, here the temperature and magnetic field dependence of the conductance may become non-monotonic: its initial increase follows by a drop when temperature and magnetic field are lowered.
We study the transport behavior induced by a small bias voltage through a quantum dot connected to one-channel finite-size wires. We describe the quantum dot by the Hubbard-Kondo which is solved by means of a quantum Monte Carlo method. We investigate the effect of a magnetic field applied at the quantum dot in the Kondo regime. We identify changes in the behavior of mesoscopic oscillations introduced by the magnetic field that have an analogous behavior to those observed as a function of the temperature.
We theoretically study enhancement mechanisms of the Kondo effect in multilevel quantum dots. In quantum dots fabricated on semiconductors, the energy difference between discrete levels Δis tunable by applying a magnetic field. With two orbitals and spin 1/2 in the quantum dots, we evaluate the Kondo temperature T_K as a function of Δ, using the scaling method. T_K is maximal around Δ=0 and decreases with increasing |Δ|, following a power law, T_K(Δ)=T_K(0) (T_K(0)/|Δ|)^γ, which is understood as a crossover from SU(4) to SU(2) Kondo effect. The exponents on both sides of a level crossing, γ_L …
The shot noise in the current through a quantum dot is calculated as a function of voltage from the high-voltage, Coulomb blockaded regime to the low-voltage, Kondo regime. Using several complementary approaches, it is shown that the zero-frequency shot noise (scaled by the voltage) exhibits a non-monotonic dependence on voltage, with a peak around the Kondo temperature. Beyond giving a good estimate of the Kondo temperature, it is shown that the shot noise yields additional information on the effects of electronic correlations on the local density of states in the Kondo regime, unaccessible i…
We have observed the Kondo effect in strongly coupled semiconducting nanowire quantum dots. The devices are made from indium arsenide nanowires, grown by molecular beam epitaxy, and contacted by titanium leads. The device transparency can be tuned by changing the potential on a gate electrode, and for increasing transparencies the effects dominating the transport changes from Coulomb Blockade to Universal Conductance Fluctuations with Kondo physics appearing in the intermediate region.
We quantitatively describe the main features of the magnetically induced conductance modulation of a Kondo quantum dot -- or chessboard pattern -- in terms of a constant-interaction double quantum dot model. We show that the analogy with a double dot holds down to remarkably low magnetic fields. The analysis is extended by full 3D spin density functional calculations. Introducing an effective Kondo coupling parameter, the chessboard pattern is self-consistently computed as a function of magnetic field and electron number, which enables us to quantitatively explain our experimental data.
We demonstrate theoretically how the Kondo effect may be observed in the transport of spinless electrons through a quantum dot. The role of conduction electron spin is played by a lead index. The Kondo effect takes place if there are two close levels in the dot populated by a single electron. For temperatures exceeding the Kondo temperature $T\gg T_K$ the conductance is maximal if the levels are exactly degenerate. However, at zero temperature the conductance is zero at the SU(2) symmetric point, but reaches the unitary limit $G = e^2/h$ for some finite value of the level splitting $Δ\eps\sim …
Motivated by recent experiments, in which the Kondo effect has been observed for the first time in a double quantum-dot structure, we study electron transport through a system consisting of two ultrasmall, capacitively-coupled dots with large level spacing and charging energy. Due to strong interdot Coulomb correlations, the Kondo effect has two possible sources, the spin and orbital degeneracies, and it is maximized when both occur simultaneously. The large number of tunable parameters allows a range of manipulations of the Kondo physics -- in particular, the Kondo effect in each dot is sensi…
We consider electron transport along a single-mode channel which is in contact, via tunnel junctions in its walls, with two quantum dots. Electron tunneling to and from the dots contributes to the electron backscattering, and thus modifies the channel conductance. If the dots carry spin, the channel conductance becomes temperature dependent due to the Kondo effect. The two-dot device geometry allows for a formation of S=1 localized spin due to the indirect exchange interaction, called Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interaction. This device offers a possibility to study the crossover between ful…
Properties of the Kondo effect in quantum dots depend sensitively on the coupling parameters and so on the realization of the quantum dot -- the Kondo temperature itself becomes a mesoscopic quantity. Assuming chaotic dynamics in the dot, we use random matrix theory to calculate the distribution of both the Kondo temperature and the conductance in the Coulomb blockade regime. We study two experimentally relevant cases: leads with single channels and leads with many channels. In the single-channel case, the distribution of the conductance is very wide as $T_K$ fluctuates on a logarithmic scale.…
We report measurements of the Kondo effect in a double quantum dot (DQD), where the orbital states act as pseudospin states whose degeneracy contributes to Kondo screening. Standard transport spectroscopy as a function of the bias voltage on both dots shows a zero-bias peak in conductance, analogous to that observed for spin Kondo in single dots. Breaking the orbital degeneracy splits the Kondo resonance in the tunneling density of states above and below the Fermi energy of the leads, with the resonances having different pseudospin character. Using pseudospin-resolved spectroscopy, we demonstr…
We report on a comprehensive study of spin-1/2 Kondo effect in a strongly-coupled quantum dot realized in a high-quality InAs nanowire. The nanowire quantum dot is relatively symmetrically coupled to its two leads, so the Kondo effect reaches the Unitary limit. The measured Kondo conductance demonstrates scaling with temperature, Zeeman magnetic field, and out-of-equilibrium bias. The suppression of the Kondo conductance with magnetic field is much stronger than would be expected based on a g-factor extracted from Zeeman splitting of the Kondo peak. This may be related to strong spin-orbit cou…
The Fano-Kondo effect in zero-bias conductance is studied based on a theoretical model for the T-shaped quantum dot by the finite temperature density matrix renormalization group method. The modification of the two Fano line shapes at much higher temperatures than the Kondo temperature is also investigated by the effective Fano parameter estimated as a fitting parameter.
In this article, we study the quantum transport through a single-level quantum-dot in Kondo regime, coupled to current leads and embedded between two one-dimensional topological superconductors, each hosting Majorana zero modes at their ends. The Kondo effect in the quantum dot is modeled by mean-field finite-$U$ auxiliary bosons approximation and solved by using the non-equilibrium Green's function approach. First, we calculate the density of states of the quantum dot, and then both the current and the differential conductance through the quantum dot in order to characterize the interplay bet…
We study a quantum dot connected to the bulk by single-mode junctions at almost perfect conductance. Although the average charge $e\langle N \rangle$ of the dot is not discrete, its spin remains quantized: $s=1/2$ or $s=0$, depending (periodically) on the gate voltage. This drastic difference from the conventional mixed-valence regime stems from the existence of a broad-band, dense spectrum of discrete levels in the dot. In the doublet state, the Kondo effect develops at low temperatures. We find the Kondo temperature $T_K$ and the conductance at $T\lesssim T_K$.
In the present work, we investigate the electronic transport through a T-shape double quantum dot system coupled to two normal leads and to one superconducting lead. We explore the interplay between Kondo and Andreev states due to proximity effects. We find that Kondo resonance is modified by the Andreev bound states, which manifest through Fano antiresonances in the local density of states of the embedded quantum dot and normal transmission. This means that there is a correlation between Andreev bound states and Fano resonances that is robust under the influence of high electronic correlation…
We analyze the full counting statistics (FCS) of quantum dots in the Kondo regime contacted by normal and superconducting leads or an STM tip. To describe the Kondo resonance we use an effective model for the quantum dot in the Kondo regime in combination with the FCS for tunneling contacts calculated using the Hamiltonian approach. We show that the situation of weak coupling to the superconducting electrode in the case of superconductor gap being larger than the Kondo resonance width can be easily handled and verify the method by comparing our theoretical predictions to experimental data. Thi…
Transport properties of the two-orbital Kondo effect involving both spin and orbital (pseudospin) degrees of freedom were examined in a parallel double quantum dot with a sufficient interdot Coulomb interaction and negligibly small interdot tunneling. The Kondo effect was observed at the interdot Coulomb blockade region with degeneracies of both spin and orbital degrees of freedom. When the orbital degeneracy is lifted by applying a finite detuning, the Kondo resonance exhibits a triple-peak structure, indicating that both spin and orbital contributions are involved.
We investigate the effects induced by spin polarization in the contacts attached to a serial double quantum dot. The polarization generates effective magnetic fields and suppresses the Kondo effect in each dot. The super-exchange interaction ($J_{\mathrm{AFM}}$), tuned by the inter-dot tunnelling rate $t$, can be used to compensate the effective fields and restore the Kondo resonance when the contact polarizations are aligned. As a consequence, the direction of the spin conductance can be controlled and even reversed using electrostatic gates alone. Furthermore, we study the associated two-imp…
We have performed low-temperature transport measurements on a double quantum dot-quantum wire coupled device and demonstrated non-local control of the Kondo effect in one dot by manipulating the electronic spin states of the other. We discuss the modulation of the local density of states in the wire region due to the Fano-Kondo antiresonance, and the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yoshida (RKKY) exchange interaction as the mechanisms responsible for the observed features.
In this Letter we study thermoelectric effects in ultra small quantum dots. We study the behaviour of the thermopower, Peltier coefficient and thermal conductance both in the sequencial tunneling regime and in the regime where Kondo correlations develope. Both cases of linear response and non-equilibrium induced by strong temperature gradients are considered. The thermopower is a very sensitive tool to detect Kondo correlations. It changes sign both as a function of temperature and temperature gradient. We also discuss violations of the Wiedemann-Franz law.
We have studied low-temperature single electron transport through ultra-small Si quantum dots. We find that at low temperatures Coulomb blockade is partially lifted at certain gate voltages. Furthermore, we observed an enhancement of differential conductance at zero bias. The magnetic field dependence of this zero bias anomaly is very different from the one reported in GaAs quantum dots, inconsistent with predictions for the Kondo effect.
We investigate Kondo effect and spin blockade observed on a many-electron quantum dot and study the magnetic field dependence. At lower fields a pronounced Kondo effect is found which is replaced by spin blockade at higher fields. In an intermediate regime both effects are visible. We make use of this combined effect to gain information about the internal spin configuration of our quantum dot. We find that the data cannot be explained assuming regular filling of electronic orbitals. Instead spin polarized filling seems to be probable.
We systematically investigate electron transport through double quantum dots with particular emphasis on interference induced via multiple paths of electron propagation. By means of the slave-boson mean-field approximation, we calculate the conductance, the local density of states, the transmission probability in the Kondo regime at zero temperature. It is clarified how the Kondo-assisted transport changes its properties when the system is continuously changed among the serial, parallel and T-shaped double dots. The obtained results for the conductance are explained in terms of the Kondo reson…
Transport measurements at cryogenic temperatures through a few electron top gated quantum dot fabricated in a silicon/silicon-germanium heterostructure are reported. Variations in gate voltage induce a transition from an isolated dot toward a dot strongly coupled to the leads. In addition to Coulomb blockade, when the dot is strongly coupled to the leads, we observe the appearance of a zero bias conductance peak due to the Kondo effect. The Kondo peak splits in a magnetic field, and the splitting scales linearly with the applied field. We also observe a transition from pure Coulomb blockade to…
The out-of-equilibrium transport properties of a double quantum dot system in the Kondo regime are studied theoretically by means of a two-impurity Anderson hamiltonian with interimpurity hopping. The hamiltonian is solved by means of a non-equilibrium generalization of the slave-boson mean-field theory. It is demonstrated that measurements of the differential conductance dI/dV, for the appropriate values of voltages and tunneling couplings, can give a direct observation of the coherent superposition between the many-body Kondo states of each dot. For large voltages and arbitrarily large inter…
We have fabricated single electron tunneling structures by forming nanogap metallic electrodes directly upon single self-assembled InAs quantum dots (QDs). The fabricated samples exhibited clear Coulomb blockade effects. Furthermore, a clear Kondo effect was observed when strong coupling between the electrodes and the QDs was realized using a large QD with a diameter of ~ 100 nm. From the temperature dependence of the linear conductance at the Kondo valley, the Kondo temperature TK was determined to be ~ 81 K. This is the highest TK ever reported for artificial quantum nanostructures.
Thermoelectric transport phenomena in a single-level quantum dot coupled to ferromagnetic leads are considered theoretically in the Kondo regime. The dot is described by the Anderson model with Rashba type spin-orbit interaction. The finite-U mean field slave boson technique is used to describe the transport characteristics, like heat conductance, thermopower, thermoelectric efficiency (figure of merit). The role of quantum interference effects in thermoelectric parameters is also analyzed.
A quantum dot with spin-orbit interaction can work as an efficient spin filter if it is connected to N (> 2) external leads via tunnel barriers. When an unpolarized current is injected to a quantum dot from a lead, polarized currents are ejected to other leads. A two-level quantum dot is examined as a minimal model. First, we show that the spin polarization is markedly enhanced by resonant tunneling when the level spacing in the dot is smaller than the level broadening. Next, we examine the many-body resonance induced by the Kondo effect in the Coulomb blockade regime. A large spin current is …
The Kondo effect is a cornerstone in the study of strongly correlated fermions. The coherent exchange coupling of conduction electrons to local magnetic moments gives rise to a Kondo cloud that screens the impurity spin. Whereas complete Kondo screening has been explored widely, realizations of the underscreened scenario - where only some of several Kondo channels participate in the screening - remain rare. Here we report the observation of fully screened and underscreened Kondo effects in quantum dots in bilayer graphene. More generally, we introduce a unique platform for studying Kondo physi…
