Simultaneous Coulomb blockade for electrons and holes in p–n junctions: observation of Coulomb staircase and turnstile operation

The Coulomb blockade effect in a mesoscopic double-barrier p–i–n junction is reported. The electron and hole injection into the central QW of a p–n junction is achieved via resonant tunneling. We present a theoretical model that describes the device operation. When the device is biased with a constant voltage source the model predicts the observation of Coulomb staircase in the current–voltage characteristics. When an additional square wave modulation signal is applied, turnstile operation is achieved. The experimental evidence for Coulomb staircase effect and turnstile operation is presented.