Spin filters with Fano dots

A quantum dot with spin-orbit interaction can work as an efficient spin filter if it is connected to N (> 2) external leads via tunnel barriers. When an unpolarized current is injected to a quantum dot from a lead, polarized currents are ejected to other leads. A two-level quantum dot is examined as a minimal model. First, we show that the spin polarization is markedly enhanced by resonant tunneling when the level spacing in the dot is smaller than the level broadening. Next,...

We present lateral transport measurements on strongly, vertically coupled quantum dots formed in separate quantum wells in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. Coulomb oscillations are observed forming a honeycomb lattice consistent with two strongly coupled dots. When the tunnel barriers in the upper well are reduced we observe the Fano effect due to the interfering paths through a resonant state in the lower well and a continuum state in the upper well. In both regimes an in plan...

The transport through a quantum wire exposed to two magnetic spikes in series is modeled. We demonstrate that quantum dots can be formed this way which couple to the leads via magnetic barriers. Conceptually, all quantum dot states are accessible by transport experiments. The simulations show Breit-Wigner resonances in the closed regime, while Fano resonances appear as soon as one open transmission channel is present. The system allows to tune the dot's confinement potential ...

We study the spin states of a few-electron quantum dot defined in a two-dimensional electron gas, by applying a large in-plane magnetic field. We observe the Zeeman splitting of the two-electron spin triplet states. Also, the one-electron Zeeman splitting is clearly resolved at both the zero-to-one and the one-to-two electron transition. Since the spin of the electrons transmitted through the dot is opposite at these two transitions, this device can be employed as an electric...

We present measurements on spin blockade in a laterally integrated quantum dot. The dot is tuned into the regime of strong Coulomb blockade, confining ~ 50 electrons. At certain electronic states we find an additional mechanism suppressing electron transport. This we identify as spin blockade at zero bias, possibly accompanied by a change in orbital momentum in subsequent dot ground states. We support this by probing the bias, magnetic field and temperature dependence of the ...

The coherent transport through a set of N quantum dots coupled in parallel is considered in the limit of infinite intradot and finite or infinite interdot interactions. The mean field slave boson approach and the equation of motion method are used. For the full spin-orbit degenerate case the low energy behavior is characterized by an SU(2N) symmetry with entangled spin and charge correlations. The magnetic field breaks the spin degeneracy, but for the special choices of gate ...

The Fano-Kondo effect in zero-bias conductance is investigated based on a theoretical model for the T-shaped quantum dot. The conductance as a function of the gate voltage is generally characterized by a Fano asymmetric parameter q. With varying temperature the conductance shows a crossover between the high and low temperature regions compared with the Kondo temperature T_K: two Fano asymmetric peaks at high temperatures and the Fano-Kondo plateau inside a Fano peak at low te...

Linear conductance across a large quantum dot via a single level e_0 with large hybridization to the contacts is strongly sensitive to quasi-bound states localized in the dot and weakly coupled to e_0. It oscillates with the gate voltage due to interference of the Fano type. At low temperature and Coulomb blockade, Kondo correlations damp the oscillations on an extended range of gate voltage values, by freezing the occupancy of the e_0 level itself. As a consequence, antireso...

Two strongly coupled quantum dots are theoretically and experimentally investigated. In the conductance measurements of a GaAs based low-dimensional system additional features to the Coulomb blockade have been detected at low temperatures. These regions of finite conductivity are compared with theoretical investigations of a strongly coupled quantum dot system and good agreement of the theoretical and the experimental results has been found.

The influence of electron-electron (e-e) interactions on the transmission through a quantum dot is investigated numerically for the Coulomb blockade regime. For vanishing magnetic fields, the conductance peak height statistics is found to be independent of the interactions strength. It is identical to the statistics predicted by constant interaction single electron random matrix theory and agrees well with recent experiments. However, in contrast to these random matrix theori...