Abstract
We study the noise of the cotunneling current through one or several tunnel-coupled quantum dots in the Coulomb blockade regime. The various regimes of weak and strong, elastic and inelastic cotunneling are analyzed for quantum-dot systems (QDS) with few-level, nearly-degenerate, and continuous electronic spectra. In the case of weak cotunneling we prove a non-equilibrium fluctuation-dissipation theorem which leads to a universal expression for the noise-to-current ratio (Fano factor). The noise of strong inelastic cotunneling can be super-Poissonian due to switching between QDS states carrying currents of different strengths. The transport through a double-dot (DD) system shows an Aharonov-Bohm effect both in noise and current. In the case of cotunneling through a QDS with a continuous energy spectrum the Fano factor is very close to one.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
For a recent review on shot noise, see: Ya. M. Blanter and M. Büttiker, Shot Noise in Mesoscopic Conductors, Phys. Rep. 336, 1 (2000).
D. V. Averin and Yu. V. Nazarov, in Single Charge Tunneling, eds. H. Grabert and M. H. Devoret, NATO ASI Series B: Physics Vol. 294, (Plenum Press, New York, 1992).
D. C. Glattli et al., Z. Phys. B 85, 375 (1991).
For an review, see D. V. Averin and K. K. Likharev, in Mesoscopic Phenomena in Solids, edited by B. L. Al’tshuler, P. A. Lee, and R. A. Webb (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1991).
E. V. Sukhorukov, G. Burkard, and D. Loss, Phys. Rev. B 63, 125315 (2001).
D. Loss and E. V. Sukhorukov, Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 1035 (2000).
Such a non-equilibrium FDT was derived for single barrier junctions long ago by D. Rogovin, and D. J. Scalapino, Ann. Phys. (N. Y.) 86, 1 (1974).
For the super-Poissonian noise in resonant double-barrier structures, see: G. Iannaccone et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 1054 (1998); V. V. Kuznetsov et al., Phys. Rev. B 58, R10159 (1998); Ya. M. Blanter and M. Büttiker, Phys. Rev. B 59, 10217 (1999).
The Aharonov-Bohm effect in the noise of non-interacting electrons in a mesoscopic ring has been discussed in Ref. [1].
G. D. Mahan, Many Particle Physics, 2nd Ed. (Plenum, New York, 1993).
M. H. Devoret, and R. J. Schoelkopf, Nature 406, 1039 (2000).
One could view this as an analog of a whistle effect, where the flow of air (current) is strongly modulated by a bistable state in the whistle, and vice versa. The analogy, however, is not complete, since the current through the QDS is random due to quantum fluctuations.
See, e.g., Sh. Kogan, Electronic Noise and Fluctuations in Solids, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996).
G. Burkard, D. Loss, and D. P. DiVincenzo, Phys. Rev. B 59, 2070 (1999)
Note that the Aharonov-Bohm effect is not suppressed by this inelastic cotunneling, since the entire cotunneling process involving also leads is elastic: the initial and final states of the entire system have the same energy.
P. Recher, E. V. Sukhorukov, and D. Loss, Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 1962 (2000).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2003 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sukhorukov, E., Burkard, G., Loss, D. (2003). Shot Noise of Cotunneling Current. In: Nazarov, Y.V. (eds) Quantum Noise in Mesoscopic Physics. NATO Science Series, vol 97. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0089-5_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0089-5_8
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-1240-2
Online ISBN: 978-94-010-0089-5
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive