Single-electron transport in InAs nanowire quantum dots formed by crystal phase engineering

TL;DR

This study demonstrates how crystal phase engineering in InAs nanowires creates quantum dots with controllable electron transport properties, revealing a significant conduction-band offset and enabling precise structural characterization.

Contribution

It introduces a method to directly measure nanowire segment lengths from SEM images and correlates these with transport properties in phase-engineered quantum dots.

Findings

Regular Coulomb oscillations indicate effective electron barriers.

Transport properties depend on quantum dot length and growth time.

Estimated conduction-band offset is at least 95 meV.

Abstract

We report electrical characterization of quantum dots formed by introducing pairs of thin wurtzite (WZ) segments in zinc blende (ZB) InAs nanowires. Regular Coulomb oscillations are observed over a wide gate voltage span, indicating that WZ segments create significant barriers for electron transport. We find a direct correlation of transport properties with quantum dot length and corresponding growth time of the enclosed ZB segment. The correlation is made possible by using a method to extract lengths of nanowire crystal phase segments directly from scanning electron microscopy images, and with support from transmission electron microscope images of typical nanowires. From experiments on controlled filling of nearly empty dots with electrons, up to the point where Coulomb oscillations can no longer be resolved, we estimate a lower bound for the ZB-WZ conduction-band offset of 95 meV.