Quantum fluctuation of tunneling current in individual Ge quantum dots induced by a single-electron transfer

Abstract

A scanning tunneling microscopic study revealed quantum fluctuation of tunneling currents in individual Ge quantum dots (QDs) on SiO2/Si. This was due to the charging energy change in the QDs caused by single-electron transfer from or into the QDs. The observed electron discharging time of approximately milliseconds agreed with the propagation model of the electron wave packets from the QDs to the Si substrates by a tunneling effect rather than by passing through voids in the SiO2 smaller than electron de Broglie wavelength. © 2007 American Institute of Physics.