title: Localization-delocalization transition in quantum dots
abstract: Single-electron capacitance spectroscopy precisely measures the energies required to add individual electrons to a quantum dot. The spatial extent of electronic wave functions is probed by investigating the dependence of these energies on changes in the dot confining potential. For low electron densities, electrons occupy distinct spatial sites localized within the dot. At higher densities, the electrons become delocalized, and all wave functions are spread over the full dot area. Near the delocalization transition, the last remaining localized states exist at the perimeter of the dot. Unexpectedly, these electrons appear to bind with electrons in the dot center.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Center for Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, NJ 07974, USA.
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Zhitenev
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brodsky
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Ashoori
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Pfeiffer
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: West