Urgent Acquisition of a Second-Hand 40 GHz Source for Nanoelectronics Experiments

我们迫切要求为购置二手微波源提供资金。这是Gervais实验室两项重大突破的结果。第一个是设计具有独立触点的垂直耦合量子线电路的制造[NSERC DG资助的项目]。去年，我们成功测量了1D-1D“库仑阻力信号”；即，由于两根量子线之间的距离很近（小于15纳米），电流流过另一根线而在一根线中产生的电压。这些结果发表在2011年的《自然纳米技术》杂志上。我们现在正在深入研究我们的耦合1D-1D器件在最低温度下的电子-电子相互作用，预计在最低温度下会形成卢廷格液体。为了阐明这一物理现象，迫切需要一种GHz范围的微波源。其次，我们最近（2012年）申请了一项关于硅“全片”直接冷却的美国专利。磁致冷在掺杂硅中的应用展示了一些有趣的新技术途径。我们的技术允许在现代铸造厂内将制冷剂与有源电子设备无缝集成。在未来，这对于量子器件、量子信息以及低噪声探测器阵列等应用的电子制冷可能是重要的。为了进一步推动我们的概念，我们迫切需要一种微波源来对供体束缚自旋进行电检测电子自旋共振（ESR）。最后，为了限制NSERC RTI计划的成本和负担，我们提出了一种现实的解决方案，即以低于全新微波源成本的40%购买二手微波源。

We urgently request funding for the acquisition of a second-hand microwave source. This is the consequence of two major breakthroughs in Gervais' laboratory. The first concerns the fabrication of vertically-coupled quantum wire circuits designed with independent contacts [a NSERC DG funded project]. Last year, we successfully measured the 1D-1D "Coulomb drag signal"; i.e. the voltage generated in one wire by the current flow in the other owing to the close proximity (less than 15 nm) between the two quantum wires. These results were published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology in 2011. We are now intensively investigating electron-electron interaction in our coupled 1D-1D devices at the lowest temperatures where it is expected that a Luttinger liquid will form. In order to elucidate this physics, a microwave source in the GHz range is urgently needed. Second, we have recently (2012) filed a US patent regarding the direct cooling of silicon "all-on-a-chip''. The demonstration of magnetic refrigeration in doped silicon presents several interesting new technological avenues. Our technique allows for seamless, monolithic integration of refrigerant with active electronic devices built in modern foundries. In the future, this could prove important for refrigeration of electronics for applications such as quantum devices, quantum information, as well as low-noise detector arrays. In order to push our concept further, we urgently need a microwave source to perform electrically detected electron spin resonance (ESR) on the donour bound spins. Finally, in order to limit the cost and the burden on the NSERC RTI program, we propose as a realistic solution to purchase a second-hand microwave source for less than 40% of the cost of a brand new microwave source.