Shot Noise Spectroscopy Research Articles

Probing the exciton condensate via shot noise spectroscopy in superconducting hybrid structures based on excitonic insulators

Probing the exciton condensate via shot noise spectroscopy in superconducting hybrid structures based on excitonic insulators

Driven strongly correlated quantum circuits and Hall edge states: Unified photoassisted noise and revisited minimal excitations

We study the photo-assisted noise generated by time-dependent or random sources and transmission amplitudes. We show that it obeys a perturbative non-equilibrium fluctuation relation that fully extends the lateral-band transmission picture in terms of many-body correlated states. This relation holds in non-equilibrium strongly correlated systems such as the integer or fractional quantum Hall regime as well as in quantum circuits formed by a normal or Josephson junctions strongly coupled to an electromagnetic environment, with a possible temperature bias. We then show that the photo-assisted noise is universally super-poissonian, giving an alternative to a theorem by L. Levitov {\it et al} which states that an ac voltage increases the noise. Restricted to a linear dc current, we show that the latter does not apply to a non-linear superconducting junction. Then we characterize minimal excitations in non-linear conductors by ensuring a poissonian photo-assisted noise, and show that these can carry a non-trivial charge value in the fractional quantum Hall regime. We also propose methods for shot noise spectroscopy and for a robust determination of the fractional charge which is more advantageous than those we have proposed previously and implemented experimentally.

Coherent and Incoherent Tunneling into Yu-Shiba-Rusinov States Revealed by Atomic Scale Shot-Noise Spectroscopy.

The pair breaking potential of individual magnetic impurities in s-wave superconductors generates localized states inside the superconducting gap commonly referred to as Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states whose isolated nature makes them promising building blocks for artificial structures that may host Majorana fermions. One of the challenges in this endeavor is to understand their intrinsic lifetime, ℏ/Λ, which is expected to be limited by the inelastic coupling with the continuum thus leading to decoherence. Here we use shot-noise scanning tunneling microscopy to reveal that electron tunneling into superconducting 2H-NbSe_{2} mediated by YSR states is not Poissonian, but ordered as a function of time, as evidenced by a reduction of the noise. Moreover, our data show the concomitant transfer of charges e and 2e, indicating that incoherent single particle and coherent Andreev processes operate simultaneously. From the quantitative agreement between experiment and theory we obtain Λ=1 μeV≪k_{B}T demonstrating that shot noise can probe energy scales and timescales inaccessible by conventional spectroscopy whose resolution is thermally limited.

Scanning tunneling shot-noise spectroscopy in Kondo systems

Using a large-N theory in combination with the Keldysh non-equilibrium Greens function formalism, we investigate the current, differential conductance, zero-frequency shot-noise and Fano factor as measured by scanning tunneling shot noise spectroscopy (STSNS) using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) near single Kondo impurities and in Kondo lattices. We show that the Fano factor $F$ exhibits a characteristic bias dependence arising from Kondo screening that is similar to the Kondo resonance observed in the differential conductance. Moreover, the lineshape of $F$ is strongly dependent on the ratio of the tunneling amplitudes for electron tunneling from the STM tip into the conduction band and electronic levels of the magnetic adatoms. We demonstrate that the Fano factor can be enhanced or suppressed due to interference effects and as such, is not only a sensitive probe for the correlation effects arising from Kondo screening, but also for quantum interference between tunneling electrons. We identify a correlation between the form of the differential conductance and the Fano factor that could be tested in future STSNS experiments.

Photoassisted shot noise spectroscopy at fractional filling factor

We study the photoassisted shot noise generated by a periodic voltage in the fractional quantum Hall regime. Fluctuations of the current are due to the presence of a quantum point contact operating in the weak backscattering regime. We show how to reconstruct the photoassisted absorption and emission probabilities by varying independently the dc and ac contributions to the voltage drive. This is made possible by the peculiar power-law behavior of the tunneling rates in the chiral Luttinger liquid theory, which allow to approximate the typical infinite sums of the photoassisted transport formalism in a simple and particularly convenient way.

Shot noise detection in hBN-based tunnel junctions

High quality Au/hBN/Au tunnel devices are fabricated using transferred atomically thin hexagonal boron nitride as the tunneling barrier. All tunnel junctions show tunneling resistance on the order of several kΩ/μm2. Ohmic I-V curves at small bias with no signs of resonances indicate the sparsity of defects. Tunneling current shot noise is measured in these devices, and the excess shot noise shows consistency with theoretical expectations. These results show that atomically thin hBN is an excellent tunnel barrier, especially for the study of shot noise properties, and this can enable the study of the tunneling density of states and shot noise spectroscopy in more complex systems.

Quasi‐thermal noise and shot noise spectroscopy on a CubeSat in Earth's ionosphere

AbstractWe investigate the practicality of using quasi‐thermal noise (QTN) and shot noise spectroscopy on a CubeSat in the Earth's ionosphere and constrain the satellite antenna length for optimal detection of these signals. The voltage spectra predicted for thermal Langmuir waves (QTN) and particle “shot noise” are modeled, and it is shown that the signals detected can provide two very good, independent, passive, in situ methods of measuring the plasma density and temperature in the ionosphere. The impact of the antenna potential ϕ is also discussed, and we show that the negative potential calculated for the ionosphere due to natural current flows has a significant impact on the voltage power level of the shot noise spectrum. The antenna configuration is also shown to play an important role in the shot noise, with a monopole configuration enhancing the spectrum significantly compared with a dipole. Antenna lengths on the order of 20–40 cm are found to be ideal for ionospheric plasma conditions, nicely matching CubeSat sizes and producing detectable thermal Langmuir waves and shot noise at the microvolt level. Further, with a continuous stream of data points at different latitudes and longitudes an orbiting CubeSat can produce a global picture for the ionospheric plasma density and temperature using QTN and shot noise signals. If implemented, especially in a constellation, these data would be more frequent and cover a much greater domain than current ground‐based or single‐satellite methods. This could lead to improved ionospheric models, such as the empirically based International Reference Ionosphere.

Molecule-assisted ferromagnetic atomic chain formation

One dimensional systems strongly enhance the quantum character of electron transport. Such systems can be realized in $5d$ transition metals Au, Pt, and Ir, in the form of suspended monatomic chains between bulk leads. Atomic chains between ferromagnetic leads would open up many perspectives in the context of spin-dependent transport and spintronics, but the evidence suggests that for pure metals only the mentioned three $5d$ metals are susceptible to chain formation. It has been argued that the stability of atomic chains made up from ferromagnetic metals is compromised by the same exchange interaction that produces the local moments. Here we demonstrate that magnetic atomic chains can be induced to form in break junctions under the influence of light molecules. Explicitly, we find deuterium assisted chain formation in the $3d$ ferromagnetic transition metals Fe and Ni. Chain lengths up to eight atoms are formed upon stretching the ferromagnetic atomic contact in deuterium atmosphere at cryogenic temperatures. From differential conductance spectra vibronic states of ${\mathrm{D}}_{2}$ can be identified, confirming the presence of deuterium in the atomic chains. Shot noise spectroscopy indicates the presence of weakly spin polarized transmission channels.

Pump-Probe Noise Spectroscopy of Molecular Junctions.

The slow response of electronic components in junctions limits the direct applicability of pump-probe type spectroscopy in assessing the intramolecular dynamics. Recently the possibility of getting information on a sub-picosecond time scale from dc current measurements was proposed. We revisit the idea of picosecond resolution by pump-probe spectroscopy from dc measurements and show that any intramolecular dynamics not directly related to charge transfer in the current direction is missed by current measurements. We propose a pump-probe dc shot noise spectroscopy as a suitable alternative. Numerical examples of time-dependent and average responses of junctions are presented for generic models.

Minimal-excitation states for electron quantum optics using levitons

The on-demand generation of pure quantum excitations is important for the operation of quantum systems, but it is particularly difficult for a system of fermions. This is because any perturbation affects all states below the Fermi energy, resulting in a complex superposition of particle and hole excitations. However, it was predicted nearly 20 years ago that a Lorentzian time-dependent potential with quantized flux generates a minimal excitation with only one particle and no hole. Here we report that such quasiparticles (hereafter termed levitons) can be generated on demand in a conductor by applying voltage pulses to a contact. Partitioning the excitations with an electronic beam splitter generates a current noise that we use to measure their number. Minimal-excitation states are observed for Lorentzian pulses, whereas for other pulse shapes there are significant contributions from holes. Further identification of levitons is provided in the energy domain with shot-noise spectroscopy, and in the time domain with electronic Hong-Ou-Mandel noise correlations. The latter, obtained by colliding synchronized levitons on a beam splitter, exemplifies the potential use of levitons for quantum information: using linear electron quantum optics in ballistic conductors, it is possible to imagine flying-qubit operation in which the Fermi statistics are exploited to entangle synchronized electrons emitted by distinct sources. Compared with electron sources based on quantum dots, the generation of levitons does not require delicate nanolithography, considerably simplifying the circuitry for scalability. Levitons are not limited to carrying a single charge, and so in a broader context n-particle levitons could find application in the study of full electron counting statistics. But they can also carry a fraction of charge if they are implemented in Luttinger liquids or in fractional quantum Hall edge channels; this allows the study of Abelian and non-Abelian quasiparticles in the time domain. Finally, the generation technique could be applied to cold atomic gases, leading to the possibility of atomic levitons.

Integer and fractional charge Lorentzian voltage pulses analyzed in the framework of photon-assisted shot noise

We study the injection $n$ of electrons in a quantum conductor using voltage pulses applied on a contact. We particularly consider the case of Lorentzian voltage pulses. When carrying integer charge, they are known to provide electronic states with a minimal number of excitations, while any other type of pulses are accompanied with a neutral cloud of electron and hole excitations. We focus on the low-frequency shot noise arising when the excitations are partitioned by a single scatterer. Using periodic pulses, the physics can be discussed in the framework of the photon-assisted shot noise. Pulses of arbitrary shape and arbitrary charge are shown to give a marked minimum in the noise when the charge is an integer. The energy-domain characterization of the charge pulse excitations is also given using the shot-noise spectroscopy which reveals the asymmetrical energy spectrum of Lorentzian pulses. Finally, time-domain information is obtained from Hong-Ou-Mandel--type noise correlations when two trains of pulses generated on opposite contacts collide on the scatterer. For integer Lorentzian, the noise versus the time delay between pulse trains is shown to give a measure of the electron wave-packet autocorrelation function. In order to make contact with recent experiments, all the calculations are made at zero and finite temperatures.

Spin-dependent negative differential conductance in transport through single-molecule magnets

Transport properties are theoretically studied through an anisotropy single-molecule magnet symmetrically connected to two identical ferromagnetic leads. It is found that even though in parallel configuration of leads' magnetizations, the total current still greatly depends on the spin polarization of leads at certain particular bias region, and thus for large polarization a prominent negative differential conductance (NDC) emerges. This originates from the joint effect of single-direction transitions and spin polarization, which removes the symmetry between spin-up and spin-down transitions. The present mechanism of NDC is remarkably different from the previously reported mechanisms. To clarify the physics of the NDC, we further monitored the shot noise spectroscopy and found that the appearance of the NDC is accompanied by the rapid decrease of Fano factor.

Shot noise spectroscopy on a semiconductor quantum dot in the elastic and inelastic cotunneling regimes

We report shot noise spectroscopy on a semiconductor quantum dot in a cotunneling regime. The DC conductance measurements show clear signatures of both elastic and inelastic cotunneling transport inside a Coulomb diamond. We observed Poissonian shot noise with the Fano factor $F\approx 1$ in the elastic cotunneling regime, and super-Poissonian Fano factor $1<F<3$ in the inelastic cotunneling regime. The differences in the value of the Fano factor between elastic and inelastic processes reveal the microscopic mechanisms involved in the cotunneling transport.

Current and Shot Noise in a Quantum Dot Coupled toFerromagnetic Leads in the Kondo Regime

Using the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green function technique, we studythe current and shot noise spectroscopy of an interacting quantumdot coupled to two ferromagnetic leads with different polarizationsin the Kondo regime. General formulas of current and shot noise areobtained, which can be applied in both the parallel (P) andantiparallel (AP) alignment cases. For large polarization values, itis revealed that the behaviour of differential conductance and shotnoise are completely different for spin up and spin downconfigurations in the P alignment case. However, the differentialconductance and shot noise have similar properties for differentspin configurations in the P alignment case with the small polarizationvalue and in the AP alignment case with any polarization value.

Shot-noise spectroscopy of energy-resolved ballistic currents

We investigate the shot noise of nonequilibrium carriers injected into a ballistic conductor and interacting via long-range Coulomb forces. Coulomb interactions are shown to act as an energy analyzer of the profile of injected electrons by means of the fluctuations of the potential barrier at the emitter contact. We show that the details in the energy profile can be extracted from shot-noise measurements in the Coulomb interaction regime, but cannot be obtained from time-averaged quantities or shot-noise measurements in the absence of interactions.

Theory of current and shot-noise spectroscopy in single-molecular quantum dots with a phonon mode

Using the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green function technique, we study the current and shot-noise spectroscopy of a single-molecular quantum dot coupled to a local phonon mode. It is found that in the presence of electron-phonon coupling, in addition to the resonant peak associated with the single level of the dot, satellite peaks with the separation set by the frequency of phonon mode appear in the differential conductance. In the ``single-level'' resonant-tunneling region, the differential shot-noise power exhibits two split peaks. However, only single peaks show up in the ``phonon-assisted'' resonant-tunneling region. An experimental setup to test these predictions is also proposed.