title: An on-demand coherent single-electron source.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Pierre Aigrain, Département de Physique de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure, 24 rue Lhomond, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fève
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mahé
authors.forename: J-M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Berroir
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kontos
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Plaçais
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Glattli
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cavanna
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Etienne
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jin