An on-demand coherent single-electron source.
We report on the electron analog of the single-photon gun. On-demand single-electron injection in a quantum conductor was obtained using a quantum dot connected to the conductor via a tunnel barrier. Electron emission was triggered by the application of a potential step that compensated for the dot-charging energy. Depending on the barrier transparency, the quantum emission time ranged from 0.1 to 10 nanoseconds. The single-electron source should prove useful for the use of quantum bits in ballistic conductors. Additionally, periodic sequences of single-electron emission and absorption generate a quantized alternating current.
Fève
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Laboratoire Pierre Aigrain, Département de Physique de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure, 24 rue Lhomond, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.
Mahé
A
A
Berroir
J-M
JM
Kontos
T
T
Plaçais
B
B
Glattli
D C
DC
Cavanna
A
A
Etienne
B
B
Jin
Y
Y