Cooling low-dimensional electrons down to the quantum limit

About the Project

The study of mesoscopic semiconductor devices, where electrons are confined into submicron-sized dots and wires, has been extremely fruitful over the past 25 years. To maximise the possibility of observing new quantum effects measurements are typically performed in a dilution fridge with an operating temperature of less than 10 mK. It is very difficult to get the electrons as cold as the fridge, and many of the great advances in the field have been achieved with the electrons at temperatures as high as 30 mK. We have successfully¹ cooled 1D electrons down to less than 1 mK, and would like to explore their transport properties in a strong magnetic field (fractional quantum Hall effect) and in reduced dimensions. The project involves collaboration with groups both inside and outside the Department. The project involves both individual and team skills and is well suited to those with a broad understanding of quantum mechanics and condensed matter physics. The position would suit a graduating student in physics who would like to learn new experimental skills both in the nanofabrication clean rooms (SuperFab) and in the measurement laboratory.

References

1. https://arxiv.org/abs/2110.01887