NER: Nanoelectromechanical Single-Electron Transistors Operating at GHz

本研究计划的目的是实验性地展示一个机械可控制的单电子晶体管，它是通过库仑阻塞来解决的。（1）利用电子束光刻、湿法和干法刻蚀、金属化和淀积等一系列工艺技术，研制出端部电隔离金属量子点、束中嵌入二维电子气的纳米级AlGaAs/InGaAs束谐振器;（2）研究了高频交流信号耦合和压电效应增强的梁共振激励电容;（三）使用改进的RF测试在GHz频率范围下证明了对所制造的机电单电子晶体管的库仑阻塞技术.所提出的纳米机械电子穿梭装置有望成为传感器和通信应用的极快速和超高灵敏度的装置，并且是纳米机电系统中电子-声子耦合的基础研究的理想候选者。这类新的纳米机电设备将允许量子有限位移传感，以及电荷和质量检测。这些器件将为未来通信、量子计算机、精密测量和标准以及DNA解码等应用带来革命。此外，拟议研究的跨学科性质为研究生和本科生提供了纳米结构加工，射频和微波频率下的器件测试以及基于量子力学的理论建模和模拟方面的绝佳培训机会。研究结果和发现将被纳入主要研究者的课程，“纳米尺度结构和器件”，以改善和丰富课程。

The objective of this research project is to experimentally demonstrate a mechanically-controllable single-electron transistor which is resolved by Coulomb blockade. The approach consists of a set of activities involving: (1) developing a nanoscale AlGaAs/InGaAs beam resonator with an electrically isolated metallic quantum dot at the end and a two dimensional electron gas embedded in the beam by utilizing a series of processing technologies including electron beam lithography, wet and dry etching, metallization and deposition; (2) investigating the beam resonant excitation capacitively coupled by high frequency AC signals and enhanced by piezoelectric effects; (3) demonstrating Coulomb blockade on the fabricated electromechanical single electron transistors at the GHz frequency range using improved RF testing technologies. The proposed nanomechanical electron shuttle devices promise to be extremely fast and ultrahighly sensitive devices for sensor and communication applications and are ideal candidates for fundamental research in electron-phonon coupling in nanoelectromechnical systems. This new class of nanoelectromechanical devices will allow quantum limited displacement sensing, as well as charge and mass detection. The devices will provide a revolution in applications in future communications, quantum computers, precision measurement and standard, and DNA decoding. Moreover, the interdisciplinary nature of the proposed research offers graduate and undergraduate students a great training opportunity in nanostructure processing, device testing at RF and microwave frequencies, and quantum mechanics-based theoretical modeling and simulation. Research findings and discoveries will be incorporated into the principle investigator's course, "Nano-scale Structures and Devices" to improve and enrich the course.