arXiv subjects

Christian Reichl

Publications and source records attributed to Christian Reichl.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Characterization of quasiparticle tunneling in a quantum dot from temperature dependent transport in the integer and fractional quantum Hall regime

We report on magnetoconductance measurements through a weakly coupled quantum dot, containing roughly 900 electrons, in a wide magnetic field range from 0 T to 12 T. We find modulations of the conductance resonances in the quantum Hall regime for higher integer filling factors $6> ν_\mathrm{dot} > 2$, in addition to modulations at $2> ν_\mathrm{dot} > 1$ and at fractional filling factors $ν_\mathrm{dot} \gtrsim 2/3$, $1/3$. Depending on the internal filling factor, edge reconstruction inside the quantum dot leads to the formation of multiple concentric compressible regions, which contain discrete charge and are separated by incompressible rings. Quasiparticle tunneling between different compressible regions results in magnetic-field-(pseudo)-periodic modulations of the Coulomb resonances with different periodicities, additional super-periodicity or non-periodic features. The evolution of the period in magnetic field indicates cyclic depopulation of the inner compressible regions close to integer filing factors. We study the temperature dependence of the conductance resonances for different magnetic fields. While at low fields, the resonance amplitude decays inversely with temperature, corresponding to single-level transport, the temperature dependence of the amplitude evolves continuously into a linearly increasing behavior for dot filling factor $2> ν_\mathrm{dot} > 1$. This coincides with a reduction of the charging energy by approximately a factor of 2 in the same regime. At zero magnetic field, the temperature dependence differs for individual resonances, and is found to depend on the closeness to quantum dot states that couple strongly to the leads. The presented experiments complement and extend previous results on internal rearrangements of quasiparticles for weakly coupled quantum dots in magnetic field.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Breakdown of the topological protection by cavity vacuum fields in the integer quantum Hall effect

The control of the electronic properties of materials via the vacuum fields of cavity electromagnetic resonators is one of the emerging frontiers of condensed matter physics. We show here that the enhancement of vacuum field fluctuations in subwavelength split-ring resonators dramatically affects arguably one of the most paradigmatic quantum protectorates, namely the quantum Hall electron transport in high-mobility 2D electron gases. The observed breakdown of the topological protection of the integer quantum Hall effect is interpreted in terms of a long-range cavity-mediated electron hopping where the anti-resonant terms of the light-matter coupling finally result into a finite resistivity induced by the vacuum fluctuations. The present experimental platform can be used for any 2D material and provides new ways to manipulate electron phases in matter thanks to vacuum-field engineering

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arXiv2021

The improved inverted AlGaAs/GaAs interface: its relevance for high-mobility quantum wells and hybrid systems

Two dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) realized at GaAs/AlGaAs single interfaces by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) reach mobilities of about 15 million cm^2/Vs if the AlGaAs alloy is grown after the GaAs. Surprisingly, the mobilities may drop to a few millions for the identical but inverted AlGaAs/GaAs interface, i.e. reversed layering. Here we report on a series of inverted heterostructures with varying growth parameters including temperature, doping, and composition. Minimizing the segregation of both dopants and background impurities leads to mobilities of 13 million cm^2/Vs for inverted structures. The dependence of the mobility on electron density tunes by a gate or by illumination is found to be the identical if no doping layers exist between the 2DEG and the respective gate. Otherwise, it differs significantly compared to normal interface structures. Reducing the distance of the 2DEG to the surface down to 50nm requires an additional doping layer between 2DEG and surface in order to compensate for the surface-Schottky barrier. The suitability of such shallow inverted structures for future semiconductor-superconductor hybrid systems is discussed. Lastly, our understanding of the improved inverted interface enables us to produce optimized double-sided doped quantum wells exhibiting an electron mobility of 40 million cm^2/Vs at 1K.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2021

Superballistic electron flow through a point contact in a Ga[Al]As heterostructure

We measure electronic transport through point contacts in the high-mobility electron gas in a Ga[Al]As heterostructure at different temperatures and bulk electron densities. The conductance through all point contacts increases with increasing temperature in a temperature window around $T \sim 10 K$ for all investigated electron densities and point contact widths. For high electron densities this conductance exceeds the fundamental ballistic limit (Sharvin limit). These observations are in agreement with a viscous electron transport model and previous experiments in graphene.

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arXiv2021

Donor implanted Back-gates in GaAs for MBE-grown highest mobility two-dimensional electron systems

Three different elements, Silicon, Selenium, and Tellurium, are ion-implanted in Gallium arsenide to form a conducting layer that serves as a back-gate to a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) overgrown two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). While the heavy ion Tellurium creates too many damages in the gallium arsenide to form a conducting layer, both Silicon and Selenium show promising results combined with MBE-grown high-quality 2DEGs. Similar 2DEG mobility compared to non-implanted reference samples is achieved for both Silicon and Selenium implanted structures. Individual contacts to the back-gate are challenging. However, Silicon implanted structures, annealed before the MBE growth, result in a function back-gate, and the electron density of the 2DEG is tuned via the back-gate.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2021

Imaging signatures of the local density of states in an electronic cavity

We use Scanning Gate Microscopy to study electron transport through an open, gate-defined resonator in a Ga(Al)As heterostructure. Raster-scanning the voltage-biased metallic tip above the resonator, we observe distinct conductance modulations as a function of the tip-position and voltage. Quantum mechanical simulations reproduce these conductance modulations and reveal their relation to the partial local density of states in the resonator. Our measurements illustrate the current frontier between possibilities and limitations in imaging the local density of states in buried electron systems using scanning gate microscopy.

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arXiv2021

Thermoelectric cooling properties of a quantum Hall Corbino device

We analyze the thermoelectric cooling properties of a Corbino device in the quantum Hall regime on the basis of experimental data of electrical conductance. We focus on the cooling power and the coefficient of performance within and beyond linear response. Thermovoltage measurements in this device reported in {\em Phys. Rev. Applied, {\bf 14} 034019 (2020)} indicated that the transport takes place in the diffusive regime, without signatures of effects due to the electron-phonon interaction in a wide range of temperatures and filling factors. In this regime, the heat and charge currents by electrons can be described by a single transmission function. We infer this function from experimental data of conductance measurements and we calculate the cooling power and the coefficient of performance for a wide range of filling factors and temperatures, as functions of the thermal and electrical biases. We predict an interesting cooling performance in several parameter regimes.

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arXiv2021

Observation of quantum Hall interferometer phase jumps due to changing quasiparticle number

We measure the magneto-conductance through a micron-sized quantum dot hosting about 500 electrons in the quantum Hall regime. In the Coulomb blockade, when the island is weakly coupled to source and drain contacts, edge reconstruction at filling factors between one and two in the dot leads to the formation of two compressible regions tunnel coupled via an incompressible region of filling factor $ν=1$. We interpret the resulting conductance pattern in terms of a phase diagram of stable charge in the two compressible regions. Increasing the coupling of the dot to source and drain, we realize a Fabry-Pérot quantum Hall interferometer, which shows an interference pattern strikingly similar to the phase diagram in the Coulomb blockade regime. We interpret this experimental finding using an empirical model adapted from the Coulomb blockaded to the interferometer case. The model allows us to relate the observed abrupt jumps of the Fabry-Pérot interferometer phase to a change in the number of bulk quasiparticles. This opens up an avenue for the investigation of phase shifts due to (fractional) charge redistributions in future experiments on similar devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Local signatures of electron-electron scattering in an electronic cavity

We image equilibrium and non-equilibrium transport through a two-dimensional electronic cavity using scanning gate microscopy (SGM). Injecting electrons into the cavity through a quantum point contact close to equilibrium, we raster-scan a weakly invasive tip above the cavity regions and measure the modulated conductance through the cavity. Varying the electron injection energy between $\pm$ 2 meV, we observe that conductance minima turn into maxima beyond the energy threshold of $\pm$ 0.6 meV. This observation bears similarity to previous measurements by Jura et al. [Jura et al., Phys. Rev. B 82, 155328 (2010)] who used a strongly invasive tip potential to study electron injection into an open two-dimensional electron gas. This resemblance suggests a similar microscopic origin based on electron-electron interactions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Thermoelectricity in Quantum-Hall Corbino Structures

We measure the thermoelectric response of Corbino structures in the quantum Hall effect regime and compare it with a theoretical analysis. The measured thermoelectric voltages are qualitatively and quantitatively simulated based upon the independent measurement of the conductivity indicating that they originate predominantly from the electron diffusion. Electron-phonon interaction does not lead to a phonon-drag contribution in contrast to earlier Hall-bar experiments. This implies a description of the Onsager coefficients on the basis of a single transmission function, from which both thermovoltage and conductivity can be predicted with a single fitting parameter. It furthermore let us predict a figure of merit for the efficiency of thermoelectric cooling which becomes very large for partially filled Landau levels (LL) and high magnetic fieldse of merit can be estimated which becomes very large for partially filled Landau levels and high magnetic fields.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Realization of a $CQ_3$ Qubit: energy spectroscopy and coherence

The energy landscape of a single electron in a triple quantum dot can be tuned such that the energy separation between ground and excited states becomes a flat function of the relevant gate voltages. These so-called sweet spots are beneficial for charge coherence, since the decoherence effects caused by small fluctuations of gate voltages or surrounding charge fluctuators are minimized. We propose a new operation point for a triple quantum dot charge qubit, a so-called $CQ_3$-qubit, having a third order sweet spot. We show strong coupling of the qubit to single photons in a frequency tunable high-impedance SQUID-array resonator. In the dispersive regime we investigate the qubit linewidth in the vicinity of the proposed operating point. In contrast to the expectation for a higher order sweet spot, we there find a local maximum of the linewidth. We find that this is due to a non-negligible contribution of noise on the quadrupolar detuning axis not being in a sweet spot at the proposed operating point. While the original motivation to realize a low-decoherence charge qubit was not fulfilled, our analysis provides insights into charge decoherence mechanisms relevant also for other qubits.

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arXiv2020

Fractional Coulomb blockade for quasiparticle tunneling between edge channels

We study the magneto-conductance of a $1.4~\mathrm{μm}$-wide quantum dot in the fractional quantum Hall regime. For a filling factor $\approx 2/3$ and $\gtrsim 1/3$ in the quantum dot the observed Coulomb resonances show a periodic modulation in magnetic field. This indicates a non-trivial reconstruction of the 2/3 fractional quantum Hall state in the quantum dot. We present a model for the charge stability diagram of the system assuming two compressible regions separated by an incompressible stripe of filling factor $2/3$ and $1/3$, respectively. From the dependence of the magnetic field period on total magnetic field we construct the zero-field charge density distribution in the quantum dot. The tunneling between the two compressible regions exhibits fractional Coulomb blockade. For both filling factor regions, we extract a fractional charge $e^*/e = 0.32 \pm 0.03$ by comparing to measurements at filling factor 2. With their close relation to quantum Hall Fabry-Pérot interferometers, our investigations on quantum dots in the fractional quantum Hall regime extend and complement interference experiments investigating the nature of anyonic fractional quantum Hall quasiparticles.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Nagaoka ferromagnetism observed in a quantum dot plaquette

Engineered, highly-controllable quantum systems hold promise as simulators of emergent physics beyond the capabilities of classical computers. An important problem in many-body physics is itinerant magnetism, which originates purely from long-range interactions of free electrons and whose existence in real systems has been subject to debate for decades. Here we use a quantum simulator consisting of a four-site square plaquette of quantum dots to demonstrate Nagaoka ferromagnetism. This form of itinerant magnetism has been rigorously studied theoretically but has remained unattainable in experiment. We load the plaquette with three electrons and demonstrate the predicted emergence of spontaneous ferromagnetic correlations through pairwise measurements of spin. We find the ferromagnetic ground state is remarkably robust to engineered disorder in the on-site potentials and can induce a transition to the low-spin state by changing the plaquette topology to an open chain. This demonstration of Nagaoka ferromagnetism highlights that quantum simulators can be used to study physical phenomena that have not yet been observed in any system before. The work also constitutes an important step towards large-scale quantum dot simulators of correlated electron systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Mesoscopic Elastic Distortions in GaAs Quantum Dot Heterostructures

Quantum devices formed in high-electron-mobility semiconductor heterostructures provide a route through which quantum mechanical effects can be exploited on length scales accessible to lithography and integrated electronics. The electrostatic definition of quantum dots in semiconductor heterostructure devices intrinsically involves the lithographic fabrication of intricate patterns of metallic electrodes. The formation of metal/semiconductor interfaces, growth processes associated with polycrystalline metallic layers, and differential thermal expansion produce elastic distortion in the active areas of quantum devices. Understanding and controlling these distortions presents a significant challenge in quantum device development. We report synchrotron x-ray nanodiffraction measurements combined with dynamical x-ray diffraction modeling that reveal lattice tilts with a depth-averaged value up to 0.04 deg. and strain on the order of 10^-4 in the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. Elastic distortions in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures modify the potential energy landscape in the 2DEG due to the generation of a deformation potential and an electric field through the piezoelectric effect. The stress induced by metal electrodes directly impacts the ability to control the positions of the potential minima where quantum dots form and the coupling between neighboring quantum dots.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Phonon spectral density in a GaAs/AlGaAs double quantum dot

We study phonon emission in a GaAs/AlGaAs double quantum dot by monitoring the tunneling of a single electron between the two dots. We prepare the system such that a known amount of energy is emitted in the transition process. The energy is converted into lattice vibrations and the resulting tunneling rate depends strongly on the phonon scattering and its effective phonon spectral density. We are able to fit the measured transition rates and see imprints of interference of phonons with themselves causing oscillations in the transition rates.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Automated tuning of double quantum dots into specific charge states using neural networks

While quantum dots are at the forefront of quantum device technology, tuning multi-dot systems requires a lengthy experimental process as multiple parameters need to be accurately controlled. This process becomes increasingly time-consuming and difficult to perform manually as the devices become more complex and the number of tuning parameters grows. In this work, we present a crucial step towards automated tuning of quantum dot qubits. We introduce an algorithm driven by machine learning that uses a small number of coarse-grained measurements as its input and tunes the quantum dot system into a pre-selected charge state. We train and test our algorithm on a GaAs double quantum dot device and we consistently arrive at the desired state or its immediate neighborhood.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Quantum dot thermometry at ultra-low temperature in a dilution refrigerator with a $^4$He immersion cell

Experiments performed at a temperature of a few millikelvin require effective thermalization schemes, low-pass filtering of the measurement lines and low-noise electronics. Here, we report on the modifications to a commercial dilution refrigerator with a base temperature of 3.5 mK that enable us to lower the electron temperature to 6.7 mK measured from the Coulomb peak width of a quantum dot gate-defined in an [Al]GaAs heteostructure. We present the design and implementation of a liquid $^4$He immersion cell tight against superleaks, implement an innovative wiring technology and develop optimized transport measurement procedures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Strong photon coupling to the quadrupole moment of an electron in solid state

The implementation of circuit quantum electrodynamics allows coupling distant qubits by microwave photons hosted in on-chip superconducting resonators. Typically, the qubit-photon interaction is realized by coupling the photons to the electric dipole moment of the qubit. A recent proposal suggests storing the quantum information in the electric quadrupole moment of an electron in a triple quantum dot. The qubit is expected to have improved coherence since it is insensitive to dipolar noise produced by distant voltage fluctuators. Here we experimentally realize a quadrupole qubit in a linear array of three quantum dots in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. A high impedance microwave resonator coupled to the middle dot interacts with the qubit quadrupole moment. We demonstrate strong quadrupole qubit--photon coupling and observe improved coherence properties when operating the qubit in the parameter space where the dipole coupling vanishes.

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