Excess dissipation in a single-electron box: The Sisyphus resistance

TL;DR

This paper investigates the ac response of a single-electron box under high-frequency excitation, revealing excess dissipation explained by a novel Sisyphus resistance mechanism with potential electrometry applications.

Contribution

The study introduces the concept of Sisyphus resistance to explain unexpected dissipation in a single-electron box at high frequencies.

Findings

Observed higher dissipation than expected from simple models

Identified strong gate dependence of the Sisyphus resistance

Proposed applications in electrometry

Abstract

We present measurements of the ac response of a single-electron box (SEB). We apply an rf signal with a frequency larger than the tunneling rate and drive the system out of equilibrium. We observe much more dissipation in the SEB then one would expect from a simple circuit model. We can explain this in terms of a mechanism that we call the Sisyphus resistance. The Sisyphus resistance has a strong gate dependence which can be used for electrometery applications.