Title :
Counting electrons one by one-overview of a joint European research project
Author :
Van den Brom, Helko E. ; Kerkhof, Oswin ; Lotkhov, Sergey V. ; Bogoslovsky, Sergey.A. ; Willenberg, Gerd-Dietmar ; Scherer, Hansjörg ; Zorin, Alexander B. ; Pedersen, S. ; Kristoffersson, C. ; Aassime, A. ; Delsing, Per ; Taslakov, Marian A. ; Ivanov, Z.
Author_Institution :
NMi Van Swinden Lab., Delft, Netherlands
fDate :
4/1/2003 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
The European COUNT project exploits two complementary single electron tunneling devices for use in electrical current metrology: a single electron pump as a current source and a single electron counter as a current meter. An electron pump has been developed with on-chip resistors in order to suppress cotunneling. The intended accuracy is 1 ppm for a current of a few picoamperes. Apart from being a quantum current standard, the electron pump could also be the basis of a capacitance standard. A coaxial tunable cryogenic capacitor of 1 picofarad has been developed for this purpose. A passive electron counter based on a single electron transistor embedded in a resonant tank circuit has been further investigated and developed in order to reach both high sensitivity and high counting speed. The intended accuracy is 10 ppm for a current of a few picoamperes.
Keywords :
capacitance measurement; cryogenic electronics; electric current measurement; measurement standards; resistors; single electron devices; single electron transistors; tunnelling; 1 pF; European COUNT project; capacitance standard; coaxial tunable cryogenic capacitor; complementary single electron tunneling devices; cotunneling suppression; counting speed; electrical current metrology; electron counting; joint European research project; measurement accuracy; on-chip resistors; passive electron counter; quantum current standard; resonant tank circuit embedded single electron transistor; sensitivity; single electron counter current meter; single electron pump current source; Capacitors; Coaxial components; Counting circuits; Cryogenics; Electrons; Metrology; Quantum capacitance; Resistors; Tunable circuits and devices; Tunneling;
Journal_Title :
Instrumentation and Measurement, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TIM.2003.810736
