Device fabrication for investigating Maxwell's Demon at room-temperature using double quantum dot transistors in silicon

Abualnaja, Faris; He, Wenkun; Jones, Mervyn; Durrani, Z. A. K.

doi:10.1016/j.mne.2022.100114

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Not long ago, Szilard's thought experiment was realized in the laboratory by Koski et al [36]. Also, the quantum thermodynamics experiments based on quantum dots by Durrani et al [37], Abualnaja et al [38] and those based on nuclear magnetic resonance by Vieira et al [39] confirm Szilard's results, including the value k ln 2.…”

Section: A Smallest Entropy Value?mentioning

confidence: 71%

Testing the Minimum System Entropy and the Quantum of Entropy

Hohm,

Schiller

2023

Entropy

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Experimental and theoretical results about entropy limits for macroscopic and single-particle systems are reviewed. All experiments confirm the minimum system entropy S⩾kln2. We clarify in which cases it is possible to speak about a minimum system entropykln2 and in which cases about a quantum of entropy. Conceptual tensions with the third law of thermodynamics, with the additivity of entropy, with statistical calculations, and with entropy production are resolved. Black hole entropy is surveyed. Claims for smaller system entropy values are shown to contradict the requirement of observability, which, as possibly argued for the first time here, also implies the minimum system entropy kln2. The uncertainty relations involving the Boltzmann constant and the possibility of deriving thermodynamics from the existence of minimum system entropy enable one to speak about a general principle that is valid across nature.

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Section: A Smallest Entropy Value?mentioning

confidence: 71%

Testing the Minimum System Entropy and the Quantum of Entropy

Hohm,

Schiller

2023

Entropy

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“…Source, drain, and two gate (G1, G2) terminals are defined, isolated from each other by etched trenches (figure 3(C(II)). Further details of the fabrication process may be found in our previous work [65]. Finally, a 'geometric oxidation' process is used to oxidise completely only the ∼10 nm scale point contact region between source and drain, creating dopant atom QDs in a SiO 2 tunnel barrier at the point contact (figure 3(C(III))).…”

Section: Materials and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Room temperature Szilard cycle and entropy exchange at the Landauer limit in a dopant atom double quantum dot silicon transistor

Durrani

Abualnaja

Jones

2022

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.

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Room-temperature (RT) thermodynamics of a dopant-atom double quantum dot (DQD) silicon transistor are extracted using measurements of the dual gate charge stability diagram. Current traces corresponding to electron exchange in the Szilard one-electron gas ‘Maxwell Demon’ thermodynamic cycle are determined. Theoretical analysis, based on energy state shifts within the generalised DQD charge stability diagram, is used to map the Szilard cycle entropy exchange to the stability diagram. The restriction on the inter-QD coupling energy Em > kT, necessary to observe DQD operation, is inherently seen to satisfy the Landauer limit, kTln2, for the minimum energy consumption per cycle for 1 bit. Associated entropy flows are extracted and simulated using single-electron Monte Carlo equivalent circuit simulations, from 4.2 – 290 K. An entropy valley, tending to the Szilard limit minimum of -kln2, occurs at degeneracy between neighbouring electron states, with traces persisting to RT. Changes in gate cycle trajectory, device capacitance, and temperature are characterised to establish conditions for RT operation.

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“…Figure 1(b) shows schematically the device into the BOx layer, for trench isolation of the PC (figures 1(b)-(ii), (iii)). Geometric oxidation [13] is used to fully oxidise the PC region, isolating phosphorus (P) dopant atoms in the oxide, with the complete device structure shown in figures 1(b)-(iv). Single-electron charging of the QDs and the drain-PC-source current paths can be tuned by the side-gate voltages.…”

Section: Device Fabrication and Characterisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Room temperature (RT) point-contact (PC) single electron transistors (SETs) in silicon [1,2] provide a means to control charge at the one electron level. These devices are of great interest for applications in 'beyond CMOS' nanoelectronics [3,4], such as in memory and logic [5][6][7][8], quantum computation [9,10], single molecule sensing [11], and in probing the fundamental nature of charge and energy transfer [12,13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dark-field optical fault inspection of ∼10 nm scale room-temperature silicon single-electron transistors

He,

Chu,

Abualnaja

et al. 2023

Nanotechnology

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Dark-field (DF) optical microscopy, combined with optical simulation based on modal diffraction theory for transverse electric (TE) polarized white light, is shown to provide non-invasive, sub-wavelength geometrical information for nanoscale etched device structures. Room temperature (RT) single electron transistors (SETs) in silicon, defined using etched ~10 nm point-contacts (PCs) and in-plane side gates, are investigated to enable fabrication fault detection. Devices are inspected using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), bright-field (BF) and DF imaging. Compared to BF, DF imaging enhances contrast from edge diffraction by ×3.5. Sub-wavelength features in the RT SET structure lead to diffraction peaks in the DF intensity patterns, creating signatures for device geometry. These features are investigated using a DF line scan optical simulation approximation of the experimental results. Dark field imaging and simulation are applied to three types of structures, comprising successfully-fabricated, over-etched and interconnected PC/gate devices. Each structure can be identified via DF signatures, providing a non-invasive fault detection method to investigate etched nanodevice morphology.

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Device fabrication for investigating Maxwell's Demon at room-temperature using double quantum dot transistors in silicon

Cited by 10 publications

References 12 publications

Testing the Minimum System Entropy and the Quantum of Entropy

Testing the Minimum System Entropy and the Quantum of Entropy

Room temperature Szilard cycle and entropy exchange at the Landauer limit in a dopant atom double quantum dot silicon transistor

Dark-field optical fault inspection of ∼10 nm scale room-temperature silicon single-electron transistors

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