Electron Waiting Times of a Cooper Pair Splitter

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that electron waiting time statistics can effectively characterize Cooper pair splitters, revealing insights into the dynamics of spin-entangled electrons and enabling experimental verification with current technology.

Contribution

It introduces the use of electron waiting time distributions to analyze Cooper pair splitters, providing a new method for characterizing quantum transport in these devices.

Findings

Short waiting times indicate fast emission of split Cooper pairs.

Long waiting times are linked to slow Cooper pair injection.

Waiting time distributions can be measured with real-time single-electron detectors.

Abstract

Electron waiting times are an important concept in the analysis of quantum transport in nano-scale conductors. Here we show that the statistics of electron waiting times can be used to characterize Cooper pair splitters that create spatially separated spin-entangled electrons. A short waiting time between electrons tunneling into different leads is associated with the fast emission of a split Cooper pair, while long waiting times are governed by the slow injection of Cooper pairs from a superconductor. Experimentally, the waiting time distributions can be measured using real-time single-electron detectors in the regime of slow tunneling, where conventional current measurements are demanding. Our work is important for understanding the fundamental transport processes in Cooper pair splitters and the predictions may be verified using current technology.