Small Charging Energies and g-Factor Anisotropy in PbTe Quantum Dots

Abstract

PbTe is a semiconductor with promising properties for topological quantum computing applications. Here, we characterize electron quantum dots in PbTe nanowires selectively grown on InP. Charge stability diagrams at zero magnetic field reveal large even–odd spacing between Coulomb blockade peaks, charging energies below 140 μeV and Kondo peaks in odd Coulomb diamonds. We attribute the large even–odd spacing to the large dielectric constant and small effective electron mass of PbTe. By studying the Zeeman-induced level and Kondo splitting in finite magnetic fields, we extract the electron g-factor as a function of magnetic field direction. We find the g-factor tensor to be highly anisotropic with principal g-factors ranging from 0.9 to 22.4 and to depend on the electronic configuration of the devices. These results indicate strong Rashba spin–orbit interaction in our PbTe quantum dots.