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Towards A Single Electron Current On Superfluid Helium

The aim of this dissertation was to investigate the application of a system of electrons floating above the surface of superfluid helium to the field of single electron transport. Previous work done by Dr Forrest Bradbury at Princeton University (now a collaborator in the group) demonstrated the hig...

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Main Author: Funk, Oliver
Other Authors: Blumenthal, Mark
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Electrical Engineering 2022
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access_status_str Open Access
author Funk, Oliver
author2 Blumenthal, Mark
author_browse Blumenthal, Mark
Funk, Oliver
author_facet Blumenthal, Mark
Funk, Oliver
author_sort Funk, Oliver
collection Thesis
description The aim of this dissertation was to investigate the application of a system of electrons floating above the surface of superfluid helium to the field of single electron transport. Previous work done by Dr Forrest Bradbury at Princeton University (now a collaborator in the group) demonstrated the highly efficient and precise control of packets of electrons floating on the surface of superfluid helium, localised to channels defined in a silicon substrate. Using similar devices and methodologies, the work done in this dissertation investigates whether this modality of electron transport can be effectively applied to deliver a current of single electrons. Single electron devices have numerous applications in the field of metrology and quantum information processing. They allow for measurements to be made of fundamental quantities, such as the charge of an electron, and further demonstrate various quantum mechanical properties of nature. Presented in this dissertation is the work completed to date, which includes: the design and fabrication of the nanoscale device used to conduct the electrons on superfluid helium experiments, the required electronics needed to control the device and the data acquisition system needed to read various signals off the device. The fabrication was done at Oak Ridge National Labs in the USA. Additionally, a hermetically sealed superfluid cell designed in collaboration with Dr Jay Amrit from Universit´e Paris-Sud, France used to house the device is presented, as well the probe needed to insert this cell into the dilution fridge. The theory behind the functionality of the device and the way in which it would work is developed. A simulation of working of the device is presented, as well as the expected measurement quantities. The outlook for continued work in this exciting and very novel physical system is also presented.
format Thesis
id oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/35733
institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:52:48.354Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2022
publishDateRange 2022
publishDateSort 2022
publisher Department of Electrical Engineering
publisherStr Department of Electrical Engineering
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/35733 Towards A Single Electron Current On Superfluid Helium Funk, Oliver Blumenthal, Mark Nicolls, Frederick Electrical Engineering The aim of this dissertation was to investigate the application of a system of electrons floating above the surface of superfluid helium to the field of single electron transport. Previous work done by Dr Forrest Bradbury at Princeton University (now a collaborator in the group) demonstrated the highly efficient and precise control of packets of electrons floating on the surface of superfluid helium, localised to channels defined in a silicon substrate. Using similar devices and methodologies, the work done in this dissertation investigates whether this modality of electron transport can be effectively applied to deliver a current of single electrons. Single electron devices have numerous applications in the field of metrology and quantum information processing. They allow for measurements to be made of fundamental quantities, such as the charge of an electron, and further demonstrate various quantum mechanical properties of nature. Presented in this dissertation is the work completed to date, which includes: the design and fabrication of the nanoscale device used to conduct the electrons on superfluid helium experiments, the required electronics needed to control the device and the data acquisition system needed to read various signals off the device. The fabrication was done at Oak Ridge National Labs in the USA. Additionally, a hermetically sealed superfluid cell designed in collaboration with Dr Jay Amrit from Universit´e Paris-Sud, France used to house the device is presented, as well the probe needed to insert this cell into the dilution fridge. The theory behind the functionality of the device and the way in which it would work is developed. A simulation of working of the device is presented, as well as the expected measurement quantities. The outlook for continued work in this exciting and very novel physical system is also presented. 2022-02-18T08:25:37Z 2022-02-18T08:25:37Z 2021 2022-02-14T10:00:04Z Master Thesis Masters MSc http://hdl.handle.net/11427/35733 eng application/pdf Department of Electrical Engineering Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
spellingShingle Electrical Engineering
Funk, Oliver
Towards A Single Electron Current On Superfluid Helium
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Towards A Single Electron Current On Superfluid Helium
title_full Towards A Single Electron Current On Superfluid Helium
title_fullStr Towards A Single Electron Current On Superfluid Helium
title_full_unstemmed Towards A Single Electron Current On Superfluid Helium
title_short Towards A Single Electron Current On Superfluid Helium
title_sort towards a single electron current on superfluid helium
topic Electrical Engineering
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/35733
work_keys_str_mv AT funkoliver towardsasingleelectroncurrentonsuperfluidhelium