Quantum Shuttle Phenomena in a Nanoelectromechanical Single-Electron Transistor

Fedorets, D.; Gorelik, Leonid Y.; Shekhter, R. I.; Jonson, M.

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.92.166801

Cited by 85 publications

(109 citation statements)

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“…[3,4,5]. They have also been extensively investigated theoretically [6,7,8,9,10].Another rapidly developing branch of condensed matter physics is spintronics [11], which deals with devices whose functionality depends on the control and manipulation of the spin rather than the charge of electrons. A recent development of great interest in this context is the demonstration of a magnetic hybrid nanostructure consisting of a single C 60 -molecule placed between two ferromagnetic electrodes [12].…”

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confidence: 99%

Spintronics of a Nanoelectromechanical Shuttle

et al. 2005

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We consider effects of the spin degree of freedom on the nanomechanics of a single-electron transistor (SET) containing a nanometer-sized metallic cluster suspended between two magnetic leads. It is shown that in such a nanoelectromechanical SET (NEM-SET) the onset of an electromechanical instability leading to cluster vibrations and "shuttle" transport of electrons between the leads can be controlled by an external magnetic field. Different stable regimes of this spintronic NEM-SET operation are analyzed. Two different scenarios for the onset of shuttle vibrations are found.PACS numbers: 85.85.+j, 73.23.HK, 85.35.Be As the downsizing of electronic devices reaches the near molecular scale, the Coulomb forces associated with inhomogeneous charge distributions produced during device operation become comparable with the chemical forces that hold the device together. Consequently, the spatial configuration of a device may well change dynamically during its operation. This inherent feature of nanoelectronics can be turned into an advantage by designing the devices with the mechanical degrees of freedom in mind; this is the scope of nanoelectromechanics and the basis for nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) [1].A pronounced nanoelectromechanical phenomenonelectron transport by means of a nanoelectromechanical "shuttle" mechanism -has recently been predicted to occur in certain NEMS systems as a result of a bias voltage-induced nanoelectromechanical instability [2]. The most suitable device for the experimental observation of this phenomenon is a nanoelectromechanical single-electron transistor (NEM-SET). A NEM-SET is a single-electron transistor (SET) with a movable central island whose center-of-mass motion is confined by some potential. Experimental studies of NEM-SET devices can be found in Refs. [3,4,5]. They have also been extensively investigated theoretically [6,7,8,9,10].Another rapidly developing branch of condensed matter physics is spintronics [11], which deals with devices whose functionality depends on the control and manipulation of the spin rather than the charge of electrons. A recent development of great interest in this context is the demonstration of a magnetic hybrid nanostructure consisting of a single C 60 -molecule placed between two ferromagnetic electrodes [12]. The possibility to manipulate the spin of mechanically shuttled electrons in a molecular NEM-SET of this kind brings about an exciting opportunity to trigger nanomechanical vibrations in the THz range by means of a weak external magnetic * Present address: Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, TU Delft, Lorentzweg 1, 2628 CJ Delft, The Netherlands.field much smaller than the magnetic anisotropy fields in the leads. This Letter is devoted to exploring this very phenomenon. We will show that the spin-dependent tunneling of electrons between differently polarized leads results in a strong sensitivity to an external magnetic field of the nanoelectromechanical instability that is responsible for the shuttling. Depending on the magnitude of the...

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Spintronics of a Nanoelectromechanical Shuttle

et al. 2005

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“…For this we consider the time evolution of the expectation value of the coordinate,x(t) = Tr{xρ + }, and the momentum operators,p(t) = Tr{pρ + }, of the island (here ρ + ≡ ρ 0 + ρ 1 ). To first order in λ −1 , for symmetric tunneling couplings Γ L (0) = Γ R (0) = Γ/2 and in the high bias voltage limit (µ L − µ R = eV → ∞) the equations of motion for the first vibrational moments become closed, so that [13]…”

Section: A Shuttle Instability In the Quantum Regime Of Coulomb Blocmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If the dissipation rate γ is below the threshold value γ thr = Γd/[λ(Γ 2 ) + 1], then the expectation value of the dot coordinate grows exponentially in time and the vibrational ground state is unstable. It was shown [13] that this exponential increase of the displacement drives the system into the nonlinear regime of the vibration dynamics, where the system reaches a stable steady state of developed shuttle motion.…”

Section: A Shuttle Instability In the Quantum Regime Of Coulomb Blocmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electronic spin working mechanically (Review Article)

Shekhter

Gorelik

Krive

et al. 2014

Low Temperature Physics

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A single-electron tunneling (SET) device with a nanoscale central island that can move with respect to the bulk source-and drain electrodes allows for a nanoelectromechanical (NEM) coupling between the electrical current through the device and mechanical vibrations of the island. Although an electromechanical "shuttle" instability and the associated phenomenon of single-electron shuttling were predicted more than 15 years ago, both theoretical and experimental studies of NEM-SET structures are still carried out. New functionalities based on quantum coherence, Coulomb correlations and coherent electron-spin dynamics are of particular current interest. In this article we present a short review of recent activities in this area.

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“…As a consequence, a dc current through the system, induced by the voltage drop between the electrodes, becomes proportional to the frequency of the mechanical oscillations 1 . The idea of shuttle phenomena was also extended to the quantum realm [8][9][10][11] . Nanoelectromechanical shuttle systems have been also studied in the regime of ac excitation and several interesting effects on the transport properties and the dynamics of the shuttle system have been found [12][13][14][15][16] .…”

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Parametric excitation of dc current in a single-dot shuttle system via spontaneous symmetry breaking

2013

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We investigate theoretically the dynamics of a spatially symmetric shuttle system subjected to an ac gate voltage. We demonstrate that in such a system parametric excitation gives rise to mechanical vibrations when the frequency of the ac signal is close to the eigenfrequency of the mechanical subsystem. These mechanical oscillations result in a dc shuttle current in a certain direction due to spontaneous symmetry breaking. The direction of the current is determined by the phase shift between the ac gate voltage and the parametrically excited mechanical oscillations. The dependence of the shuttle current on the dc gate voltage is also analyzed. Some years ago, a novel form of electron transport-a shuttle mechanism-based on the mechanical vibrations of a metallic nanoparticle coupled to two electrodes via elastic molecular links was proposed in Ref. 1. Since then, the shuttle phenomenon has been a subject of intensive experimental and theoretical research. [2][3][4][5][6][7] The main feature of the orthodox shuttle phenomenon is that a constant potential difference, applied between two fixed electrodes, leads to a dynamical instability that causes the metal nanoparticle to oscillate. As a consequence, a dc current through the system, induced by the voltage drop between the electrodes, becomes proportional to the frequency of the mechanical oscillations 1 . The idea of shuttle phenomena was also extended to the quantum realm [8][9][10][11] . Nanoelectromechanical shuttle systems have been also studied in the regime of ac excitation and several interesting effects on the transport properties and the dynamics of the shuttle system have been found [12][13][14][15][16] . In particular, a shuttle structure driven by a time-dependent bias voltage has been considered in Refs. 17 and 18. It was shown that in case of asymmetric configuration such a setup can act as a rectifier, where the intensity of the dc current depends on the ratio between the frequency of the external oscillating voltage and the eigenfrequency of the mechanical subsystem. Current rectification was also conjectured by Ahn et al. 19 (and experimentally verified by Kim et al. 20 ) for the case of a symmetric double-shuttle structure. They attributed current-rectification phenomena to spontaneous symmetry breaking in the system caused by parametric instability. One of the conclusions of this work is that dynamical symmetry breaking in single shuttle systems does not lead to a dc current. Parametric excitation of nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) has been also considered in Refs. 21-23.In the present work, we investigate the possibility to generate a shuttle dc current, rather than rectifying current, in a completely symmetric single-dot shuttle system. We demonstrate that, in this scheme, despite the lack of a bias voltage, a shuttle dc current can still be detected. This charge transport is achieved by applying an ac voltage to a gate electrode which controls the electronic population of a metallic island and, in this form, also the stiffness of the...

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Quantum Shuttle Phenomena in a Nanoelectromechanical Single-Electron Transistor

Cited by 85 publications

References 27 publications

Spintronics of a Nanoelectromechanical Shuttle

Spintronics of a Nanoelectromechanical Shuttle

Electronic spin working mechanically (Review Article)

Parametric excitation of dc current in a single-dot shuttle system via spontaneous symmetry breaking

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