English

Gigahertz quantized charge pumping in graphene quantum dots

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics 2013-05-30 v1

Abstract

Single electron pumps are set to revolutionize electrical metrology by enabling the ampere to be re-defined in terms of the elementary charge of an electron. Pumps based on lithographically-fixed tunnel barriers in mesoscopic metallic systems and normal/superconducting hybrid turnstiles can reach very small error rates, but only at MHz pumping speeds corresponding to small currents of the order 1 pA. Tunable barrier pumps in semiconductor structures have been operated at GHz frequencies, but the theoretical treatment of the error rate is more complex and only approximate predictions are available. Here, we present a monolithic, fixed barrier single electron pump made entirely from graphene. We demonstrate pump operation at frequencies up to 1.4 GHz, and predict the error rate to be as low as 0.01 parts per million at 90 MHz. Combined with the record-high accuracy of the quantum Hall effect and proximity induced Josephson junctions, accurate quantized current generation brings an all-graphene closure of the quantum metrological triangle within reach. Envisaged applications for graphene charge pumps outside quantum metrology include single photon generation via electron-hole recombination in electrostatically doped bilayer graphene reservoirs, and for readout of spin-based graphene qubits in quantum information processing.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1207.6597,
  title  = {Gigahertz quantized charge pumping in graphene quantum dots},
  author = {M. R. Connolly and K. L. Chiu and S. P. Giblin and M. Kataoka and J. D. Fletcher and C. Chua and J. P. Griffiths and G. A. C. Jones and V. I. Fal'ko and C. G. Smith and T. J. B. M. Janssen},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1207.6597},
  year   = {2013}
}

Comments

13 pages, 11 figures, includes supplementary information

R2 v1 2026-06-21T21:42:42.597Z