Acoustoelectric Y-branch switch

We report an experimental realization of an acoustoelectric Y-branch current switch. A "Y"-shaped mesa configuration with one source and two drain terminals is formed in a GaAs quantum well, which is free of carriers. A surface acoustic wave extracts electrons from the source contact and d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2006-02, Vol.88 (8), p.083501-083501-3
Main Authors: Talyanskii, V. I., Graham, M. R., Beere, H. E.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We report an experimental realization of an acoustoelectric Y-branch current switch. A "Y"-shaped mesa configuration with one source and two drain terminals is formed in a GaAs quantum well, which is free of carriers. A surface acoustic wave extracts electrons from the source contact and drives them in the form of packets residing in the wave's potential minima toward the branching point, where applied voltages on controlling side gates distribute the current between the branches. We discuss the application of the switch as a fast electrometer with sensitivity at the subelectron level.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.2176847