Using Electrons on Liquid Helium for Quantum Computing

We describe a quantum computer based on electrons supported by a helium film and localized laterally by small electrodes just under the helium surface. Each qubit is made of combinations of the ground and first excited state of an electron trapped in the image potential well at the surface. Mechanisms for preparing the initial state of the qubit, operations with the qubits, and a proposed readout are described. This system is, in principle, capable of 10 ⁵ operations in a decoherence time.     

Transport of Electrons on Liquid Helium Across a Tunable Potential Barrier in a Point Contact-like Geometry

We present transport measurements of electrons bound to the surface of superfluid ⁴He in a microchannel of width 10 μm. A set of electrodes 2 μm beneath the helium surface, fabricated in a split-gate configuration using electron beam lithography, are used to control the current along the microchannel as in a point contact device. As the split-gate bias V _SG is swept negative the current decreases to zero. The value of V _SG at which the current is suppressed is dependent on the AC driving voltage applied to the electron system. We explain our results using a simple model in which a potential barrier created by the split-gate electrodes must be overcome in order to allow current to flow in the microchannel. The control of electron transport in such confined geometries may offer new possibilities for mesoscopic experiments with electrons on the surface of liquid helium.     

Self-Sustained Microwave Absorption Induced by Extremely High Radiation Intensities in Surface Electrons on Liquid Helium

A new nonlinear-optical absorption effect is observed in electrons bound to the liquid helium surface. We study absorption of mm-wave radiation due to resonant excitation of electron bound states. Below 1 K, almost all electrons occupy the ground state. Therefore, the system should be transparent for resonant radiation connecting any two excited states. On the contrary, we observe strong absorption peaks associated with transitions between the first excited and the higher excited states. We show that this anomaly results from the bistability of the electron system induced by extremely high radiation intensities and the long electron relaxation time.     

Theoretical Study of Quantum Gel Formation in?Superfluid 4He

Bosonic density functional theory calculations were carried out for neon, argon, and fluorine based systems in superfluid ⁴He with an emphasis on the formation of dimeric species in the liquid. These atomic species display relatively strong binding with helium and hence their solvation structures in the liquid exhibit highly localized liquid helium layers around them. These solvent layers modify the gas phase dimer potentials by inclusion of a recombination barrier, which provides stabilization for the solvated atoms. Of closed shell species neon is shown to exhibit a recombination barrier of 3 K for the dimer and up to 5.8 K for specific cluster geometries. For argon, the liquid induced potential barrier is only 0.7 K and it has a rather large amount of excess energy available along the recombination coordinate indicating that it is not possible to stabilize argon atoms in superfluid helium. Atomic fluorine shows the most pronounced effect with the recombination barrier of 26.8 K for producing ground state F₂. It is concluded that neon and fluorine atoms are good candidates to form impurity based quantum gels in bulk superfluid helium.     

A Low Power Photoemission Source for Electrons on Liquid Helium

Electrons on the surface of liquid helium are a widely studied system that may also provide a promising method to implement a quantum computer. One experimental challenge in these studies is to generate electrons on the helium surface in a reliable manner without heating the cryo-system. An electron source relying on photoemission from a zinc film has been previously described using a high power continuous light source that heated the low temperature system. This work has been reproduced more compactly by using a low power pulsed lamp that avoids any heating. About 5×10³ electrons are collected on 1 cm² of helium surface for every pulse of light. A time-resolved experiment suggests that electrons are either emitted over or tunnel through the 1 eV barrier formed by the thin superfluid helium film on the zinc surface. No evidence of trapping or bubble formation is seen.     

Size-dependent electrical conductivity of indium zinc oxide deposited by RF magnetron sputtering

We investigated the size-dependent electrical conductivities of indium zinc oxide stripes with different widths from 50 nm to 4 microm and with the same thickness of 50 nm deposited by RF magnetron sputtering. The size of the indium zinc oxide stripes was controlled by e-beam lithography. The distance of the two Ti/Au Ohmic electrodes along the indium zinc oxide stripes was kept constant at 25 microm. The electrical conductivity decreased as the size of the indium zinc oxide stripes decreased below a critical width (80 nm). The activation energy, derived from the electric conductivity versus temperature measurement, was dependent on the dimensions of indium zinc oxide stripes. These results can be understood as stemming from surface charge trapping from the absorption of oxygen and/or water vapor, which leads to an increase in the energy difference between the conduction energy band and the Fermi energy.     

Photoinduced enhancement of optical second harmonic generation in LiB3O5 nanocrystallites embedded between the Ag/ITO electrodes

It is reported that there is substantial enhancement of the optical second harmonic generation (SHG) at 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser wavelength for LiB₃O₅ nanocrystatllites embedded into the electric field aligned photopolymer oligoetheracrylate matrices. The borate nanocomposite was put between the electrodes containing Ag/ZnO NP with silver sizes 20, 40 and 60 nm. We study an influence of the Ag NP sizes on the output SHG. It is clearly seen that only excitation by the green continuous wave 532 nm laser with power about 350–400 mW with beam diameter about 4 mm give significant effect. The latter confirms a principal role of the surface plasmon resonances spectrally overlapped with the nonlinear excitations responsible for the observed changes of the SHG.     

Nonlinear Features of Phonon–Ripplon Modes in the Electron Crystal Over Liquid Helium

The resonance spectra of coupled phonon–ripplon oscillations in two-dimensional electron crystals over liquid helium are measured at different driving electric potentials. The crystals with surface electron densities n _s = (3.2 − 12) × 10⁸ cm⁻² are studied at holding electric fields E _⊥ = 590−1180 V/cm at temperature T≈ 80 mK. It is found that an increase of the driving potential leads to a change of resonance curves: the curves become more flat, asymmetric, and splintered depending on electron density and holding potential. The data obtained are used to estimate the electron effective mass in the crystal. It is shown for the first time that the effective electron mass in the crystal increases as the driving field increases.     

Green synthesis of nitrogen-doped fluorescent carbon quantum dots for selective detection of iron

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were synthesized by a simple and economic hydrothermal method using Lycium barbarum (LB-CQDs) as precursor. Ammonia was used as a dopant to prepare nitrogen modified LB-CQDs (N-LB-CQDs). The characterizations of atomic force microscope, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that N-LB-CQDs were spherical in shape with an average diameter of 2～5 nm. Its surface was rich in nitrogen-containing groups. The fluorescence spectrophotometer showed that N-LB-CQDs exhibited double peak emission. The two peak positions in photoluminescence were about 462 nm and 512 nm. The as-prepared N-LB-CQDs are high-fluorescent quantum yield and water soluble. In addition, iron selectively results in a strong fluorescence quenching of N-LB-CQDs. Theoretical research results verified that iron reduced energy gap between HOMO and LUMO of N-LB-CQDs greatly, which leads to its emission wavelength shift out of the visible range. Results from the study may shed light on the production of fluorescent and biocompatible CQDs with simple, economic and environmental benign strategy in which Lycium barbarum was used as a carbon source.     

Development of a Superconducting Magnet System with Zero Liquid Helium Boil-off

A homogeneous magnetic field superconducting magnet with a cold bore of 250 mm and a central field of 4.3 T has been designed, manufactured, and tested with zero liquid helium boil-off. As a result of magnetic field homogeneity considerations, the magnet is composed of three coaxial coils: one main coil and two compensation coils. All coils are connected in series and can be charged with a single power supply. The magnetic field homogeneity is about ±3.0 % from ?200 mm to 200 mm in axial direction with 86 mm in diameter. The magnet can be operated in persistent mode with a superconducting switch. A two-stage GM cryocooler with a capacity of 1.5 W at 4.2 K was used to cool the superconducting magnet. The cryocooler prevents the liquid helium from boiling off and leads to zero helium loss during static operation. The magnet can be operated in liquid helium circumstance by cooling the gas helium with the cryocooler without additional supply of liquid helium. Under this condition, the magnet is successfully operated up to 4 T without quench. The magnet system can be generating 0.25 L/h liquid helium with the cryocooler by supplying the gas helium without loading the magnet. In this paper, the magnet design, manufacture, mechanical behavior analysis, and the performance test results of the magnet are presented.     

Enhanced electrical characteristics of sol–gel-derived amorphous SrTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> films

Amorphous SrTiO₃ thin films were fabricated on Pt (100)/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by sol–gel and spin-coating technology and their surface and cross-section morphology were characterized by using field emission scanning electron microscopy. A broad absorption band at about 3390 cm^?1 owing to the stretching vibrations of hydroxyl groups in the absorbed water was observed from fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. J–E measurements were used to investigate the electrical characteristics of SrTiO₃ films. The breakdown characteristics and leakage current are strongly dependent upon their electrode materials. SrTiO₃ films with Al top electrodes exhibit significantly higher breakdown strength and much lower leakage current than those with Au top electrodes. Moreover, samples with Al electrodes exhibit distinct electrical characteristics when a negative voltage was applied under different testing conditions. The surface chemical state of aluminum was analyzed by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, indicating that the 45 nm thick Al electrode was completely transformed into aluminum oxide layer when a positive voltage was applied. These results show that the anodic oxidation of the Al electrodes and films is suggested to be responsible for the enhanced electrical characteristics of SrTiO₃ thin films.     

Fabrication of Cu@Ag core–shell nanoparticles for nonlinear optical applications

We report the preparation of the core–shell structured Cu@Ag nanoparticles by a simple wet chemical route at room temperature. The surface plasmon resonance band at 405 nm is indicative of the formation of Cu@Ag nanoparticles. The powder X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive X-ray analyses were carried out to elucidate the structure and chemical composition respectively. The morphological investigations made by electron microscopes revealed that the particles are spherical in shape with core–shell structures having size of about 50 nm. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was performed to elucidate surface state composition of the core–shell structured nanoparticles based on the binding energies and confirmed the formation of Cu@Ag core–shell nanoparticles. The enhanced non-linear optical response of the Cu@Ag core–shell nanoparticles was demonstrated by z-scan experiment using He–Ne laser. This report provides a simple, economical and practical technology to fabricate Cu@Ag core–shell nanoparticles with enhanced nonlinear optical properties.     

Transport Properties of the Two-Dimensional Wigner Solid on Liquid Helium in the Presence of?a?High-Frequency Damaging Electric Field

Experimental studies of transport properties of the two-dimensional (2D) Wigner solid (WS) over a liquid helium surface are performed in the presence of an additional (damaging) high frequency electric field. Surface electrons are in the linear transport regime with regard to the driving electric field created by a potential of a small amplitude (about 1 mV) whose frequency varies in the range 3?C8 MHz. The damaging potential applied simultaneously has substantially higher amplitudes (30?C300 mV) and frequency 36 MHz. The evolution of resonance spectra of the coupled phonon-ripplon system, electron resistivity, and the effective mass of surface dimples caused by an increase in the damaging electric field amplitude is observed. At a certain damaging potential of about 300 mV the major electron-ripplon resonance is shown to disappear, which is accompanied by a sharp decrease in the dimple effective mass, and electron resistivity. Experimental data are explained by a theoretical model of high-frequency WS decoupling from surface dimples caused by the breakdown of the balance of forces applied to the WS.     

New Calculation of the Polarization Contribution to the Energy of a Negative Ion in Liquid Helium

An electron injected into liquid helium-4 forms a bubble of radius approximately 19 Å. The size of the bubble is determined by a balance between the zero-point energy of the electron, the surface energy of the bubble wall, and the polarization energy of the helium in the electric field of the electron. We derive a modified result for the polarization energy of the bubble. We show that previous calculations in which the electron is treated as a point charge localized at the center of the bubble are inaccurate, and that it is essential to allow for the quantum fluctuations in the position of the electron.     

Direct decay measurement of capacitance in a bismuth ferrite electroceramic

A novel scanning electron microscope (SEM)-based method for making localised measurements of DC capacitance in a moderately insulating electroceramic, based on the decay of a locally injected current, is presented. A sample of BiFeO₃, with a room temperature conductivity of the order of 70 MΩm was used as a model system. Measurements were made with the aid of two closely-spaced surface micro-electrodes, each 80 μm square. During the measurement the SEM beam impinged on one electrode, while the other was used to measure the specimen current. The specimen current decay profile was characterised after blanking the incident electron beam, allowing the decay time constant to be established. Specimen currents in the range 0.1–10 nA were used. The potential difference between the electrodes was also measured as a function of beam conditions, so that the local resistance and capacitance could be established. A local capacitance of the order of 10^?10 F was measured between the electrodes. The capacitance was found to depend on the magnitude of the initial current and is interpreted in terms of the behaviour of a space-charge layer formed below the electrodes.     

Poly(3-hexylthiophene)/hexamine modified ZnO hybrid nanocomposite: structural,optical, thermal and electrical transport studies

This paper reports the synthesis of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)/HA@ZnO nanocomposite by in situ polymerization and demonstrates their thermal, morphological and optoelectronic properties. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were prepared by the simple approach of co- precipitation method using zinc acetate dihydrate as precursor modified by hexamine (HA) acting as a capping agent. Structural and photo physical studies shows that conjugated polymer chains intimately contact with the inorganic semiconductor. ZnO has wurtzite structure with average crystallite size of 40 nm. The emission spectra indicate that modified ZnO nanoparticles results in more efficient photo induced charge transfer than that of the simple nanocomposite of P3HT/ZnO. The morphological studies revealed that the transformation of granular morphology of P3HT to the clusters in P3HT/HA@ZnO hybrid nanocomposites. Cyclic voltammeter elucidates the electrochemical behavior and the HOMO–LUMO energy levels of the nanocomposites. The results indicate that the P3HT/HA@ZnO nanocomposite has energy gap of 0.72 eV, indicating this composite has potential for the fabricating hybrid organic–inorganic solid state solar cells. A solar to electric energy conversion efficiency of 0.1238 % was attained with the system.     

Linear Electron Chains on the Liquid Helium Surface: Carrier Transport

The unique system - linear electron chains on the liquid helium surface was realized experimentally for the first time. The system was realized using curvature of the liquid helium surface film covering a profiled substrate with a small dielectric constant and a pressing electric field holding electrons in the liquid channels. The conductivity of carriers in linear electron chains and magnetoresistance of a quasi-one-dimensional system have been measured in the temperature range 0.5 - 1.8 K in holding electric fields up to 1 kV/cm. The transport properties of the system depend on the substrate cleanness. For a clean system the electron mobility increases with decreasing temperature, the data are in good agreement with the existing theory which describes transport properties in a one-dimensional electron system without localization. Charging of substrate leads to the localization process in electron chains. It has been shown that in the absence of localization magnetoresistance of a quasi-one-dimensional system on liquid helium in the region of ripplon scattering increases with increasing magnetic field.     

The Helium Field Effect Transistor (I): Storing Surface State Electrons on Helium Films

We present investigations of surface state electrons on liquid helium films in confined geometry, using a suitable substrate structure microfabricated on a silicon wafer, similar to a Field Effect Transistor (FET). The sample has a source and drain region, separated by a gate structure, which consists of two gold electrodes with a narrow gap (channel) through which the transport of the surface state electrons takes place. The sample is illuminated to provide a sufficient number of free carriers in the silicon substrate, such that a well-defined potential distribution is achieved. The eventual goal of these experiments is to study the electron transport through a narrow channel in the various states of the phase diagram of the 2D electron system. In the present work we focus on storing the electrons in the source area of the FET, and investigate the spatial distribution of these electrons. It is shown that under the influence of a potential gradient in the silicon substrate the electrons accumulate in front of the potential barrier of the gate. The electron distribution, governed by Coulomb repulsion and by the substrate potential, is determined experimentally. The result is found to be in good agreement with a parallel-plate capacitor model of the system, developed with the aid of a finite element calculation of the surface potential profile of the device.     

Helium 4 Dimer in Two Coaxial Adjacent Nanotubes

The ground state properties of the helium 4 dimer, within the geometry defined by two adjacent nanotubes with different radii and hard core walls, are considered using the Monte Carlo technique. In this geometry, that may be realized as a generalization of a cylindrical one, the dependence of the binding energy on the radius leads to an effective force which moves the molecule towards the region of minimal energy. Thus, in tubes with non-homogeneous cross sections, the motion of particles is realized in dimer form.     

Mechanochemical solid state synthesis and optical properties of Cd0.5Zn0.5Se nanocrystals

High-quality Cd_0.5Zn_0.5Se nanoparticles with diameters ranging from 2.6 to 4.3 nm were synthesized via intensive mechanical milling for up to 20 h. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) and broadening of the diffraction peaks increased with increasing ball milling process and later decreased. XRD pattern confirmed a dominant zinc blende phase at (x = 0.5) composition. The optical spectra of the nanoparticles exhibited an onset absorption peak at 349 nm, with maximum absorption at 290 nm. The luminescence properties of the nanoparticles at room temperature were analyzed via photoluminescence spectroscopy, revealing band-edge emission at 354 nm. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra exhibit broad emission band at the range of (380–508) nm photon energy. The PL spectrum has two distinctive shoulders at 403 and 450 nm. Band emissions of 1.74, 1.54 and 1.4 eV at longer wavelengths that were associated with the surface state were also observed. High-transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) revealed the successful annihilation of such defects with continuous milling.