Coulomb Blockade in a Coupled Nanomechanical Electron Shuttle

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates room-temperature Coulomb blockade in coupled nanomechanical pendula, enabling controlled electron shuttling with potential for metrological applications.

Contribution

It reports the first observation of Coulomb blockade in nanomechanical electron shuttles at room temperature with tunable shuttling regimes.

Findings

Coulomb blockade observed at room temperature.

Controlled mechanical shuttling validated different electron transfer regimes.

Potential for metrological applications demonstrated.

Abstract

We demonstrate single electron shuttling through two coupled nanomechanical pendula. The pendula are realized as nanopillars etched out of the semiconductor substrate. Coulomb blockade is found at room temperature, allowing metrological applications. By controlling the mechanical shuttling frequency we are able to validate the different regimes of electron shuttling.