Imaging coherent electron flow from a quantum point contact
Scanning a charged tip above the two-dimensional electron gas inside a gallium arsenide/aluminum gallium arsenide nanostructure allows the coherent electron flow from the lowest quantized modes of a quantum point contact at liquid helium temperatures to be imaged. As the width of the quantum point contact is increased, its electrical conductance increases in quantized steps of 2 e(2)/h, where e is the electron charge and h is Planck's constant. The angular dependence of the electron flow on each step agrees with theory, and fringes separated by half the electron wavelength are observed. Placing the tip so that it interrupts the flow from particular modes of the quantum point contact causes a reduction in the conductance of those particular conduction channels below 2 e(2)/h without affecting other channels.
Topinka
MA
Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Department of Physics, and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
LeRoy
BJ
Shaw
SE
Heller
EJ
Westervelt
RM
Maranowski
KD
Gossard
AC