Non-Equilibrium Quantum Dot Transport

Abstract

Advances in fabrication technology and the understanding of electronic transport in low dimensional structures have led to fascinating discoveries (Heinrich et al., 1988; Reed and Kirk, 1989). Structures such as electron waveguides and quantum point contacts are excellent laboratories to study fundamentals of electronic transport in the quantum ballistic regime. The creation of 3-dimensionally confined systems (“quantum dots”) (Hansen et al., 1990; Reed et al., 1988; Van Wees et al., 1989) is especially intriguing since these structures are analogous to semiconductor atoms, with energy levels tunable by the confining potentials. One method for creating these systems is the electrostatic confinement of an existing 2DEG. Unfortunately, electronic transport that reveals quantum size effects in these systems only occurs for low temperatures (<1 K) and voltages near equilibrium (typically of the mV level) (Williamson et al., 1990).