A spin pump turnstile: parametric pumping of a spin-polarized current through a nearly-closed quantum dot

Using real-time charge sensing and gate pulsing techniques we measure the ratio of the rates for tunneling into the excited and ground spin states of a single-electron AlGaAs/GaAs quantum dot in a parallel magnetic field. We find that the ratio decreases with increasing magnetic field until tunneling into the excited spin state is completely suppressed. However, we find that by adjusting the voltages on the surface gates to change the orbital configuration of the dot we can r...

We propose a mechanism by which an open quantum dot driven by two ac (radio frequency) gate voltages in the presence of a moderate in-plane magnetic field generates a spin polarized, phase coherent dc current. The idea combines adiabatic, non-quantized (but coherent) pumping through periodically modulated external parameters and the strong fluctuations of the electron wave function existent in chaotic cavities. We estimate that the spin polarization of the current can be obse...

We show theoretically that a strongly spin-polarized current can be generated in semiconductors by taking advantage of the ferromagnetic phase of a quantum dot array (QDA). A Hubbard model with coupling to leads is used to study the tunneling current of the QDA system as a function of gate voltage. Due to the weak interdot coupling and strong Coulomb repulsion, it is found that a ferromagnetic phase exists in QDA within a window of gate voltage. Therefore QDA can be used as a...

We consider a quantum dot in the Coulomb blockade regime weakly coupled to current leads and show that in the presence of a magnetic field the dot acts as an efficient spin-filter (at the single-spin level) which produces a spin-polarized current. Conversely, if the leads are fully spin-polarized the up or down state of the spin on the dot results in a large sequential or small cotunneling current, and thus, together with ESR techniques, the setup can be operated as a single-...

We consider low temperature transport through a lateral quantum dot asymmetrically coupled to two conducting leads, and tuned to the mixed-valence region separating two adjacent Coulomb blockade valleys with spin S=1/2 and S=1 on the dot. We demonstrate that this system exhibits a quantum phase transition driven by the gate voltage. In the vicinity of the transition the spin on the dot is quantized, even though the fluctuations of charge are strong. The spin-charge separation...

In this Letter, we present a theoretical analysis to single-electron pumping operation in a large range of driving frequencies through the time-dependent tunneling barriers controlled by external gate voltages. We show that the single-electron turnstile works at the frequency lower than the characteristic frequency which is determined by the mean average electron tunneling rate. When the driving frequency is greater than the characteristic frequency of electron tunnelings, fr...

We propose a single-electron doped quantum dot in a field-effect structure as an optically triggered turnstile for spin-entangled electrons. A short laser pulse excites a charged exciton, whose quantum properties are transferred through tunneling and relaxation to the spin entanglement between electrons in the dot and contact. We identify the pertinent disentanglement mechanisms, and discuss experimental detection and possible application schemes.

We investigate two schemes for pumping spin adiabatically from a ferromagnet through an interacting quantum dot into a normal lead, which exploit the possibility to vary in time the ferromagnet's magnetization, either its amplitude or its direction. For this purpose, we extend a diagrammatic real-time technique for pumping to situations in which the leads' properties are time dependent. In the first scheme, the time-dependent magnetization amplitude is combined with a time-de...

We propose a spin polarizer device composed of a quantum dot connected to the spin polarized leads. The spin control of the current flowing through the device is entirely due to the Coulomb interactions present inside the dot. We show that the initial polarization present in the source lead can be reverted or suppressed just by manipulating the gate voltage acting on the dot, the presence of the external magnetic field is not required. The influence of the temperature and fin...

Single spins in the solid-state offer a unique opportunity to store and manipulate quantum information, and to perform quantum-enhanced sensing of local fields and charges. Optical control of these systems using techniques developed in atomic physics has yet to exploit all the advantages of the solid-state. We demonstrate voltage tunability of the spin energy levels in a single quantum dot by modifying how spins sense magnetic field. We find the in-plane g-factor varies disco...