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T. Hatano

Publications and source records attributed to T. Hatano.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Geometric blockade in a quantum dot coupled to two-dimensional and three dimensional electron gases

We fabricated a quantum dot coupled laterally to a two-dimensional electron gas and vertically to a three-dimensional electron gas in order to investigate the eigenstate dependence of tunneling rate to these gases. We observed a bias-dependent ``geometric" current blockade. By tunneling via the asymmetric couplings, population inversion is induced and a dark metastable triplet state is revealed. The metastable state stops the current transport process, suppresses the current and asymmetrically widens the Coulomb diamond. By analyzing the current as a function of source-drain and gate voltage and the magnetic field, we concluded that this effect is due to the geometric shape of the electronic states in the dot and the current is limited by the tunneling rate due to the eigenstates, that is, artificial $\sigma$-coupling and $\pi$-coupling.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Inter- to Intra-Layer Resistivity Anisotropy of NdFeAs(O,H) with Various Hydrogen Concentrations

With molecular beam epitaxy and topotactic chemical reaction, we prepared NdFeAs(O,H) epitaxial thin films with various hydrogen concentrations on 5° vicinal cut MgO substrates. By measuring the resistivities along the longitudinal and transversal directions, the ab plane and the c axis resistivities (\{rho}_ab and \{rho}_c) were obtained. The resistivity anisotropy γ_\{rho}=\{rho}_c \ \{rho}_ab of NdFeAs(O,H) with various hydrogen concentrations was compared with that of NdFeAs(O,F). At the H concentrations which led to superconducting transition temperatures Tc over 40 K, γ_\r{ho} recorded ~100-150 at 50 K. On the other hand, a low γ_\{rho} value of 9 was observed with the mostly doped sample. The exponent \{beta} of the ab plane resistivity obtained by fitting a power law expression \{rho}_{ab}(T)=\{rho}_0+AT^\{beta} to the data was close to unity down to low temperature in the vicinity where the second antiferromagnetic phase locates, which may be related to the quantum critical point discussed at the over-doped side of the phase diagram.

cond-mat.supr-con

Thermally assisted Pauli spin blockade in double quantum dots

We investigate the influence of thermal energy on the current flow and electron spin states in double quantum dots in series. The quadruplet Pauli spin blockade, which is caused by the quadruplet and doublet states, occurs at low temperatures affecting the transport properties. As the temperature increases, the quadruplet Pauli spin blockade occurs as a result of the thermal energy, even in regions where it does not occur at low temperatures. This is because the triplet state is formed in one dot as a result of the gradual change of the Fermi distribution function of the electrodes with increasing temperature. Moreover, the thermally assisted Pauli spin blockade results in coexistence of the Coulomb and Pauli spin blockades. Conversely, for the standard triplet Pauli spin blockade, which occurs as a result of the triplet and singlet states, the current through the double dots monotonously smears out as the temperature increases. Therefore, the thermally assisted Pauli spin blockade is not clearly observed. However, the coexistence of the Coulomb and triplet Pauli spin blockades as a result of the thermal energy is clearly obtained in the calculation of the probability of the spin state in the double dots.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Vortex glass-liquid transition and activated flux motion in an epitaxial, super-conducting NdFeAs(O,F) thin film

An epitaxial NdFeAs(O,F) thin film of 90 nm thickness grown by molecular beam epitaxy on MgO single crystal with Tc = 44.2 K has been investigated regarding a possible vortex glass-liquid tran-sition. The voltage-current characteristics show excellent scalability according to the vortex-glass model with a static critical exponent ν of around 1.35 and a temperature-dependent dynamic exponent z increasing from 7.8 to 9.0 for the investigated temperature range. The large and non-constant z values are discussed in the frame of 3D vortex glass, thermally activated flux motion, and inhomogeneity broadening.

cond-mat.supr-con

Effect of $α$-particle irradiation on a NdFeAs(O,F) thin film

The effect of $α$-particle irradiation on a NdFeAs(O,F) thin film has been investigated to determine how the introduction of defects affects basic superconducting properties, including the critical temperature $T_c$ and the upper critical field $H_{c2}$, and properties more of interest for applications, like the critical current density $J_c$ and the related pinning landscape. The irradiation-induced suppression of the film $T_c$ is significantly smaller than on a similarly damaged single crystal. Moreover $H_{c2}$ behaves differently, depending on the field orientation: for H//c the $H_{c2}$ slope monotonically increases with increasing disorder, whereas for H//ab it remains constant at low dose and it increases only when the sample is highly disordered. This suggests that a much higher damage level is necessary to drive the NdFeAs(O,F) thin film into the dirty limit. Despite the increase in the low temperature $H_{c2}$, the effects on the $J_c$(H//c) performances are moderate in the measured temperature and field ranges, with a shifting of the pinning force maximum from 4.5 T to 6 T after an irradiation of $2\times10^{15} cm^{-2}$. On the contrary, $J_c$(H//ab) is always suppressed. The analysis demonstrates that irradiation does introduce point defects acting as pinning centres proportionally to the irradiation fluence but also suppresses the effectiveness of c-axis correlated pinning present in the pristine sample. We estimate that significant performance improvements may be possible at high field or at temperatures below 10 K. The suppression of the $J_c$(H//ab) performance is not related to a decrease of the $J_c$ anisotropy as found in other superconductors. Instead it is due to the presence of point defects that decrease the efficiency of the ab-plane intrinsic pinning typical of materials with a layered structure.

cond-mat.supr-con

Selective mass enhancement close to the quantum critical point in BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$

A quantum critical point (QCP) is currently being conjectured for the BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$ system at the critical value $x_{\rm c} \approx$ 0.3. In the proximity of a QCP, all thermodynamic and transport properties are expected to scale with a single characteristic energy, given by the quantum fluctuations. Such an universal behavior has not, however, been found in the superconducting upper critical field $H_{\rm c2}$. Here we report $H_{\rm c2}$-data for epitaxial thin films extracted from the electrical resistance measured in very high magnetic fields up to 67 Tesla. Using a multi-band analysis we find that $H_{\rm c2}$ is sensitive to the QCP, implying a significant charge carrier effective mass enhancement at the doping-induced QCP that is essentially band-dependent. Our results point to two qualitatively different groups of electrons in BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$. The first one (possibly associated to hot spots or whole Fermi sheets) has a strong mass enhancement at the QCP, and the second one is insensitive to the QCP. The observed duality could also be present in many other quantum critical systems.

cond-mat.supr-con

Intrinsic and extrinsic pinning in NdFeAs(O,F): vortex trapping and lock-in by the layered structure

The Fe-based superconductors (FBS) present a large variety of compounds whose properties are affected to different extents by their crystal structures. Amongst them, the $\it{RE}$FeAs(O,F) ($\it{RE}$1111, where $\it{RE}$ is a rare earth element) is the family with the highest critical temperature $T_c$ but also with a large anisotropy and Josephson vortices as demonstrated in the flux-flow regime in Sm1111 ($T_c$ $\sim$ 55 K). Here we focus our attention on the pinning properties of the lower-$T_c$ Nd1111 in the flux-creep regime. We demonstrate that for H//c critical current density $J_c$ at high temperatures is dominated by point-defect pinning centres, whereas at low temperatures surface pinning by planar defects parallel to the $\it{c}$-axis and vortex shearing prevail. When the field approaches the $\it{ab}$-planes, two different regimes are observed at low temperatures as a consequence of the transition between 3D-Abrikosov and 2D-Josephson vortices: one is determined by the formation of a vortex staircase structure and one by lock-in of the vortices parallel to the layers. This is the first study on FBS showing this behaviour in a full temperature, field, and angular range and it demonstrates that, despite the lower $T_c$ and anisotropy of Nd1111 with respect to Sm1111, this compound is substantially affected by intrinsic pinning generating a strong $\it{ab}$-peak in $J_c$.

cond-mat.supr-con

NMR Tracing of Hyperfine-Mediated Nuclear Spin Diffusion in Fractional Quantum Hall Domain Phases

We present an enhanced diffusion of nuclear spin polarization in fractional quantum Hall domain phases at $ν= 2/3$. Resistively-detected NMR mediated by electrically driven domain-wall motion is used as a probe of local nuclear polarization, manifesting pumping-dependent signal saturation behavior. This reveals that a relatively homogeneous polarization profile spreads even to places distant from pinning centers of the domain walls. We attribute this to the fact that the pumped nuclear polarization near the domain walls rapidly diffuses into the domains where nuclei experience Knight fields on comparable levels. The anomalous enhancement of nuclear diffusion may be interpreted in terms of indirect hyperfine-mediated interaction between nuclear spins in the domains.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Anisotropic nuclear-spin diffusion in double quantum wells

Nuclear-spin diffusion in double quantum wells (QWs) is examined by using dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) at a Landau level filling factor $ν=2/3$ spin phase transition (SPT). The longitudinal resistance increases during the DNP of one of the two QW (the polarization QW) by means of a large applied current and starts to decrease just after the termination of the DNP. On the other hand, the longitudinal resistance of the other QW (the detection QW) continuously increases for approximately 2h after the termination of the DNP of the polarization QW. It is therefore concluded that the nuclear spins diffuse from the polarization QW to the detection QW. The time evolution of the longitudinal resistance of the polarization QW is explained mainly by the nuclear-spin diffusion in the in-plane direction. In contrast, that of the detection QW manifests much slower nuclear diffusion in the perpendicular direction through the AlGaAs barrier.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Thermal and electromagnetic properties of Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_8$ intrinsic Josephson junction stacks studied via one-dimensional coupled sine-Gordon equations

We used one-dimensional coupled sine-Gordon equations combined with heat diffusion equations to numerically investigate the thermal and electromagnetic properties of a $300\,μ\mathrm{m}$ long intrinsic Josephson junction stack consisting of $N = 700$ junctions. The junctions in the stack are combined to $M$ segments where we assume that inside a segment all junctions behave identically. Most simulations are for $M = 20$. For not too high bath temperatures there is the appearence of a hot spot at high bias currents. In terms of electromagnetic properties, robust standing wave patterns appear in the current density and electric field distributions. These patterns come together with vortex/antivortex lines across the stack that correspond to $π$ kink states, discussed before in the literature for a homogeneous temperature distribution in the stack. We also discuss scaling of the thermal and electromagnetic properties with $M$, on the basis of simulations with $M$ between 10 and 350.

cond-mat.supr-con

Modeling the linewidth dependence of coherent terahertz emission from intrinsic Josephson junction stacks in the hot-spot regime

Recently it has been found that, when operated at large input power, the linewidth of terahertz radiation emitted from intrinsic Josephson junction stacks can be as narrow as some megahertz. In this high-bias regime a hot spot coexists with regions which are still superconducting. Surprisingly, the linewidth was found to decrease with increasing bath temperature. We present a simple model describing the dynamics of the stack in the presence of a hot spot by two parallel arrays of pointlike Josephson junctions and an additional shunt resistor in parallel. Heat diffusion is taken into account by thermally coupling all elements to a bath at temperature T_b. We present current-voltage characteristics of the coupled system and calculations of the linewidth of the radiation as a function of T_b. In the presence of a spatial gradient of the junction parameters critical current and resistance, the linewidth deceases with increasing T_b, similar to the experimental observation.

cond-mat.supr-con

Excitation spectroscopy of few-electron states in artificial diatomic molecules

We study the excitation spectroscopy of few-electron, parallel coupled double quantum dots (QDs). By applying a finite source drain voltage to a double QD (DQD), the first excited states observed in nonequilibrium charging diagrams can be classified into two kinds in terms of the total effective electron number in the DQD, assuming a core filling. When there are an odd (even) number of electrons, one (two)-electron antibonding (triplet) state is observed as the first excited state. On the other hand, at a larger source drain voltage we observe higher excited states, where additional single-particle excited levels are involved. Eventually, we identify the excited states with a calculation using the Hubbard model and, in particular, we elucidate the quadruplet state, which is normally forbidden by the spin blockade caused by the selection rule.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Hot-spot formation in stacks of intrinsic Josephson junctions in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8

We have studied experimentally and numerically temperature profiles and the formation of hot spots in intrinsic Josephson junction stacks in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 (BSCCO). The superconducting stacks are biased in a state where all junctions are resistive. The formation of hot spots in this system is shown to arise mainly from the strongly negative temperature coefficient of the c-axis resistivity of BSCCO at low temperatures. This leads to situations where the maximum temperature in the hot spot can be below or above the superconducting transition temperature Tc. The numerical simulations are in good agreement with the experimental observations.

cond-mat.supr-con

Unusual linewidth dependence of coherent THz emission measured from intrinsic Josephson junction stacks in the hot-spot regime

We report on measurements of the linewidth Δf of THz radiation emitted from intrinsic Josephson junction stacks, using a Nb/AlN/NbN integrated receiver for detection. Previous resolution limited measurements indicated that Δf may be below 1 GHz - much smaller than expected from a purely cavity-induced synchronization. While at low bias we found Δf to be not smaller than ? 500 MHz, at high bias, where a hotspot coexists with regions which are still superconducting, Δf turned out to be as narrow as 23 MHz. We attribute this to the hotspot acting as a synchronizing element. Δf decreases with increasing bath temperature, a behavior reminiscent of motional narrowing in NMR or ESR, but hard to explain in standard electrodynamic models of Josephson junctions.

cond-mat.supr-con

Aharonov-Bohm Oscillations Changed by Indirect Interdot Tunneling via Electrodes in Parallel-Coupled Vertical Double Quantum Dots

Aharonov-Bohm (AB) oscillations are studied for a parallel coupled vertical double quantum dot with a common source and drain electrode. We observe AB oscillations of current via a one-electron bonding state as the ground state and an anti-bonding state as the excited state. As the center gate voltage becomes more negative, the oscillation period is clearly halved for both the bonding and antibonding states, and the phase changes by half a period for the antibonding state. This result can be explained by a calculation that takes account of the indirect interdot coupling via the two electrodes.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Transport properties of two laterally coupled vertical quantum dots in series with tunable inter-dot coupling

We describe the electronic properties of a double dot for which the lateral coupling between the two vertical dots can be controlled in-situ with a center gate voltage (Vc) and the current flows through the two dots in series. When Vc is large and positive, the two dots merge. As Vc is made less positive, two dots are formed whose coupling is reduced. We measure charging diagrams for positive and negative source-drain voltages in the weak coupling regime and observe current rectification due to the Pauli spin blockade when the hyperfine interaction between the electrons and the nuclei is suppressed.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Interaction of hot spots and THz waves in Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8 intrinsic Josephson junction stacks of various geometry

At high enough input power in stacks of Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O8 intrinsic Josephson junctions a hot spot (a region heated to above the superconducting transition temperature) coexists with regions still in the superconducting state. In the ``cold'' regions cavity resonances can occur, synchronizing the ac Josephson currents and giving rise to strong coherent THz emission. We investigate the interplay of hot spots and standing electromagnetic waves by low temperature scanning laser microscopy and THz emission measurements, using stacks of various geometries. For a rectangular and a arrow-shaped structure we show that the standing wave can be turned on and off in various regions of the stack structure, depending on the hot spot position. We also report on standing wave and hot spot formation in a disk shaped mesa structure.

cond-mat.supr-con