Correlated Double-Electron Additions at the Edge of a Two-Dimensional Electronic System

We create laterally large and low-disorder GaAs quantum-well-based quantum dots that act as small two-dimensional electron systems. We monitor tunneling of single electrons to the dots by means of capacitance measurements and identify single-electron capacitance peaks in the addition spectrum from occupancies of one up to thousands of electrons. The data show two remarkable phenomena in the Landau level filling factor range nu = 2 to nu = 5 in selective probing of the edge states of the dot: (i) Coulomb blockade peaks arise from the entrance of two electrons rather than one; (ii) at and near nu = 5/2 and at fixed gate voltage, these double-height peaks appear uniformly in a magnetic field with a flux periodicity of h/2e, but they group into pairs at other filling factors.

Automated summary

This research utilized laterally large and low-disorder GaAs quantum-well-based quantum dots to study tunneling of single electrons, identifying single-electron capacitance peaks in the addition spectrum. Two remarkable phenomena were observed in the Landau level filling factor range of nu = 2 to nu = 5: Coulomb blockade peaks due to the entrance of two electrons instead of one, and uniform appearance of double-height peaks at and near nu = 5/2 with a magnetic field flux periodicity of h/2e.