Search Results (4 total)

We report spatially resolved charge noise measurements on semiconductor samples by atomic force microscopy. We observed charge noise induced by light illumination on an InP/InGaAs heterostructure with surface InAs quantum dots and a buried two-dimensional electron gas. The observed noise exhibits generation-recombination noise or random telegraph noise depending on light intensity and bias voltage. A spatial resolution better than 20 nm was demonstrated by comparing the noise on and off the InAs quantum dots. The approach enables the localization of individual traps and will aid in understanding noise mechanisms.

We used a combined ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunneling and atomic force microscope (STM/AFM) to study W tip-Au(111) sample interactions in the regimes from weak coupling to strong interaction and simultaneously measure current changes from picoamperes to microamperes. Close correlation between conductance and interaction forces in a STM configuration was observed. In particular, the electrical and mechanical points of contact are determined based on the observed barrier collapse and adhesive bond formation, respectively. These points of contact, as defined by force and current measurements, coincide within measurement error. Ab initio calculations of the current as a function of distance in the tunneling regime is in quantitative agreement with experimental results. The obtained results are discussed in the context of dissipation in noncontact AFM as well as electrical contact formation in molecular electronics.

Single-electron charging in an individual InAs quantum dot was observed by electrostatic force measurements with an atomic-force microscope (AFM). The resonant frequency shift and the dissipated energy of an oscillating AFM cantilever were measured as a function of the tip-back electrode voltage, and the resulting spectra show distinct jumps when the tip was positioned above the dot. The observed jumps in the frequency shift, with corresponding peaks in dissipation, are attributed to a single-electron tunneling between the dot and the back electrode governed by the Coulomb blockade effect, and are consistent with a model based on the free energy of the system. The observed phenomenon may be regarded as the “force version” of the Coulomb blockade effect.

γ-ray generation by Compton backscattering in an optical lens series with periodic focal points is considered to produce a polarized positron beam for a linear collider. The lens series is composed of 20 unit cells with a length of 210 mm. Each lens has a hole to pass an electron beam with an energy of 5.8 GeV and the generated γ rays. It is shown by diffraction analysis that laser beam loss in the series is very small, and the beam size is periodically reduced to 26 μm. Electron beam size is reduced to 34 μm in a superconducting solenoid with a field of 15 T. To get a required γ-ray yield of 7×10¹⁵ γ/s, only one circularly polarized CO₂ laser source with a power of 24 kW is needed.