Nonlocal measurement of quasiparticle charge and energy relaxation in proximitized semiconductor nanowires using quantum dots

Autor: Guanzhong Wang, Tom Dvir, Nick van Loo, Grzegorz P. Mazur, Sasa Gazibegovic, Ghada Badawy, Erik P. A. M. Bakkers, Leo P. Kouwenhoven, Gijs de Lange
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Physical Review B, 106(6)
ISSN: 2469-9950
Popis: The lowest-energy excitations of superconductors do not carry an electric charge, as their wave function is equally electron-like and hole-like. This fundamental property is not easy to study in electrical measurements that rely on the charge to generate an observable signal. The ability of a quantum dot to act as a charge filter enables us to solve this problem and measure the quasiparticle charge in superconducting-semiconducting hybrid nanowire heterostructures. We report measurements on a three-terminal circuit, in which an injection lead excites a nonequilibrium quasiparticle distribution in the hybrid system, and the electron or hole component of the resulting quasiparticles is detected using a quantum dot as a tunable charge and energy filter. The results verify the chargeless nature of the quasiparticles at the gap edge and reveal the complete relaxation of injected charge and energy in a proximitized nanowire, resolving open questions in previous three-terminal experiments.
Databáze: OpenAIRE