Carina Fasth

Direct Measurement of the Spin-Orbit Interaction in a Two-Electron InAs Nanowire Quantum Dot

We demonstrate control of the electron number down to the last electron in tunable few-electron quantum dots defined in catalytically grown InAs nanowires. Using low temperature transport spectroscopy in the Coulomb blockade regime, we propose a method to directly determine the magnitude of the spin-orbit interaction in a two-electron artificial atom with strong spin-orbit coupling. Because of a large effective g factor |g(*)|=8+/-1, the transition from a singlet S to a triplet T+ ground state with increasing magnetic field is dominated by the Zeeman energy rather than by orbital effects. We find that the spin-orbit coupling mixes the T+ and S states and thus induces an avoided crossing with magnitude Delta(SO)=0.25+/-0.05 meV. This allows us to calculate the spin-orbit length lambda(SO) approximately 127 nm in such systems using a simple model.

Probing confined phonon modes by transport through a nanowire double quantum dot.

Strong radial confinement in semiconductor nanowires leads to modified electronic and phononic energy spectra. We analyze the current response to the interplay between quantum confinement effects of the electron and phonon systems in a gate-defined double quantum dot in a semiconductor nanowire. We show that current spectroscopy of inelastic transitions between the two quantum dots can be used as an experimental probe of the confined phonon environment. The resulting discrete peak structure in the measurements is explained by theoretical modeling of the confined phonon mode spectrum, where the piezoelectric coupling is of crucial importance.

Single electron pumping in InAs nanowire double quantum dots

Closely spaced local gate electrodes are used to electrically define a double quantum dot along an InAs nanowire crystal. By applying a periodic pulse sequence to two plunger gate electrodes controlling the double quantum dot charge configuration, the device is operated as a single electron pump. The authors find that within measurement accuracy, the pumping current equals one electron per cycle for frequencies up to 2MHz, demonstrating the suitability of nanowire based quantum dots for pumping applications.

Gate-induced fermi level tuning in InP nanowires at efficiency close to the thermal limit.

As downscaling of semiconductor devices continues, one or a few randomly placed dopants may dominate the characteristics. Furthermore, due to the large surface-to-volume ratio of one-dimensional devices, the position of the Fermi level is often determined primarily by surface pinning, regardless of doping level. In this work, we investigate the possibility of tuning the Fermi level dynamically with wrap-around gates, instead of statically setting it using the impurity concentration. This is done using Ω-gated metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors with HfO(2)-capped InP nanowires as channel material. It is found that induced n-type devices exhibit an optimal inverse subthreshold slope of 68 mV/decade. By adjusting the growth and process parameters, it is possible to produce ambipolar devices, in which the Fermi level can be tuned across the entire band gap, making it possible to induce both n-type and p-type conduction.

Creating dynamic nanowire devices using wrapped gates

Semiconducting nanowires (NWs) constitute an interesting platform as building blocks for various types of devices as well as for studies of fundamental material transport properties in one dimension. Nanowires have many interesting properties, such as the ability to incorporate strongly lattice-mismatched material combinations along its axis due to radial relaxation of interface strain. Furthermore, its inherent cylindrical geometry makes it an ideal candidate for devices implementing gates wrapped around the nanowire channel; the optimal geometry for maximum gate to channel coupling.

Dual-gate induced InP nanowire diode

Semiconductor devices are heavily dependent on dopant incorporation in order to control the electrical properties. In this paper we investigate the possibility of using gates wrapped around a nanowire (NW) channel as a way of tuning the Fermi level position, in certain cases removing the need for dopants and providing a more dynamical way of setting the device properties. InP NW devices with omega gates are fabricated, and a p‐n junction is formed in a nominally intrinsic NW channel. In order to further increase the electrostatic control of the channel and other device properties, vertical devices are discussed as a promising way of implementing this type of device.

Effects of breaking current conservation on the phase properties of two-terminal quantum systems

We study the reflection and transmission phase properties of two-terminal quantum structures coupled to a third lead. The systems are effectively three-terminal and current conservation is broken with regard to the original two-terminal systems. Two structures, a waveguide with an attached stub quantum dot and a waveguide with an inline, double-barrier confined quantum dot, are considered. The transmission and reflection phase properties are calculated for these systems with different couplings to the third lead. The results show that the discontinuous phase shifts seen in the current-conserved two-terminal systems are removed when the third lead is attached. However, as long as the coupling between the quantum systems and the additional lead is weak, sharp but continuous phase drops within narrow energy ranges can still be clearly identified.