arXiv subjects

B. Hackens

Publications and source records attributed to B. Hackens.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Superconducting properties of corner-shaped Al microstrips

The electrical transport properties of corner-shaped Al superconducting microstrips have been investigated. We demonstrate that the sharp turns lead to asymmetric vortex dynamics, allowing for easier penetration from the inner concave angle than from the outer convex angle. This effect is evidenced by a strong rectification of the voltage signal otherwise absent in straight superconducting strips. At low magnetic fields, an enhancement of the critical current with increasing magnetic field is observed for a particular combination of field and current polarity, confirming a recently theoretically predicted competing interplay of superconducting screening currents and applied currents at the inner side of the turn.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Transport inefficiency in branched-out mesoscopic networks: An analog of the Braess paradox

We present evidence for a counter-intuitive behavior of semiconductor mesoscopic networks that is the analog of the Braess paradox encountered in classical networks. A numerical simulation of quantum transport in a two-branch mesoscopic network reveals that adding a third branch can paradoxically induce transport inefficiency that manifests itself in a sizable conductance drop of the network. A scanning-probe experiment using a biased tip to modulate the transmission of one branch in the network reveals the occurrence of this paradox by mapping the conductance variation as a function of the tip voltage and position.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Imaging Coulomb Islands in a Quantum Hall Interferometer

In the Quantum Hall regime, near integer filling factors, electrons should only be transmitted through spatially-separated edge states. However, in mesoscopic systems, electronic transmission turns out to be more complex, giving rise to a large spectrum of magnetoresistance oscillations. To explain these observations, recent models put forward that, as edge states come close to each other, electrons can hop between counterpropagating edge channels, or tunnel through Coulomb islands. Here, we use scanning gate microscopy to demonstrate the presence of quantum Hall Coulomb islands, and reveal the spatial structure of transport inside a quantum Hall interferometer. Electron islands locations are found by modulating the tunneling between edge states and confined electron orbits. Tuning the magnetic field, we unveil a continuous evolution of active electron islands. This allows to decrypt the complexity of high magnetic field magnetoresistance oscillations, and opens the way to further local scale manipulations of quantum Hall localized states.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Scanning-gate microscopy of semiconductor nanostructures: an overview

This paper presents an overview of scanning-gate microscopy applied to the imaging of electron transport through buried semiconductor nanostructures. After a brief description of the technique and of its possible artifacts, we give a summary of some of its most instructive achievements found in the literature and we present an updated review of our own research. It focuses on the imaging of GaInAs-based quantum rings both in the low magnetic field Aharonov-Bohm regime and in the high-field quantum Hall regime. In all of the given examples, we emphasize how a local-probe approach is able to shed new, or complementary, light on transport phenomena which are usually studied by means of macroscopic conductance measurements.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Local Density of States in Mesoscopic Samples from Scanning Gate Microscopy

We study the relationship between the local density of states (LDOS) and the conductance variation $ΔG$ in scanning-gate-microscopy experiments on mesoscopic structures as a charged tip scans above the sample surface. We present an analytical model showing that in the linear-response regime the conductance shift $ΔG$ is proportional to the Hilbert transform of the LDOS and hence a generalized Kramers-Kronig relation holds between LDOS and $ΔG$. We analyze the physical conditions for the validity of this relationship both for one-dimensional and two-dimensional systems when several channels contribute to the transport. We focus on realistic Aharonov-Bohm rings including a random distribution of impurities and analyze the LDOS-$ΔG$ correspondence by means of exact numerical simulations, when localized states or semi-classical orbits characterize the wavefunction of the system.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Imaging Electron Wave Functions Inside Open Quantum Rings

Combining Scanning Gate Microscopy (SGM) experiments and simulations, we demonstrate low temperature imaging of electron probability density $|Ψ|^{2}(x,y)$ in embedded mesoscopic quantum rings (QRs). The tip-induced conductance modulations share the same temperature dependence as the Aharonov-Bohm effect, indicating that they originate from electron wavefunction interferences. Simulations of both $|Ψ|^{2}(x,y)$ and SGM conductance maps reproduce the main experimental observations and link fringes in SGM images to $|Ψ|^{2}(x,y)$.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Imaging and controlling electron transport inside a quantum ring

Traditionally, the understanding of quantum transport, coherent and ballistic1, relies on the measurement of macroscopic properties such as the conductance. While powerful when coupled to statistical theories, this approach cannot provide a detailed image of "how electrons behave down there". Ideally, understanding transport at the nanoscale would require tracking each electron inside the nano-device. Significant progress towards this goal was obtained by combining Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) with transport measurements2-7. Some studies even showed signatures of quantum transport in the surrounding of nanostructures4-6. Here, SPM is used to probe electron propagation inside an open quantum ring exhibiting the archetype of electron wave interference phenomena: the Aharonov-Bohm effect8. Conductance maps recorded while scanning the biased tip of a cryogenic atomic force microscope above the quantum ring show that the propagation of electrons, both coherent and ballistic, can be investigated in situ, and even be controlled by tuning the tip potential.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Dephasing Time of Two-Dimensional Holes in GaAs Open Quantum Dots

We report magnetotransport measurements of two-dimensional holes in open quantum dots, patterned either as a single-dot or an array of dots, on a GaAs quantum well. For temperatures $T$ below 500 mK, we observe signatures of coherent transport, namely, conductance fluctuations and weak antilocalization. From these effects, the hole dephasing time $τ_ϕ$ is extracted using the random matrix theory. While $τ_ϕ$ shows a $T$-dependence that lies between $T^{-1}$ and $T^{-2}$, similar to that reported for electrons, its value is found to be approximately one order of magnitude smaller.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2002

Long dephasing time and high temperature ballistic transport in an InGaAs open quantum dot

We report on measurements of the magnetoconductance of an open circular InGaAs quantum dot between 1.3K and 204K. We observe two types of magnetoconductance fluctuations: universal conductance fluctuations (UCFs), and 'focusing' fluctuations related to ballistic trajectories between openings. The electron phase coherence time extracted from UCFs amplitude is larger than in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots and follows a similar temperature dependence (between T^-1 and T^-2). Below 150K, the characteristic length associated with 'focusing' fluctuations shows a slightly different temperature dependence from that of the conductivity.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗