Nonlocal measurement of quasiparticle charge and energy relaxation in proximitized semiconductor nanowires using quantum dots

Guanzhong Wang, Tom Dvir, Nick Van Loo, Grzegorz P. Mazur, Sasa Gazibegovic, Ghada Badawy, Erik P.A.M. Bakkers, Leo P. Kouwenhoven, Gijs De Lange

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)
98 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The lowest-energy excitations of superconductors do not carry an electric charge, as their wave function is equally electron-like and hole-like. This fundamental property is not easy to study in electrical measurements that rely on the charge to generate an observable signal. The ability of a quantum dot to act as a charge filter enables us to solve this problem and measure the quasiparticle charge in superconducting-semiconducting hybrid nanowire heterostructures. We report measurements on a three-terminal circuit, in which an injection lead excites a nonequilibrium quasiparticle distribution in the hybrid system, and the electron or hole component of the resulting quasiparticles is detected using a quantum dot as a tunable charge and energy filter. The results verify the chargeless nature of the quasiparticles at the gap edge and reveal the complete relaxation of injected charge and energy in a proximitized nanowire, resolving open questions in previous three-terminal experiments.

Original languageEnglish
Article number064503
Number of pages9
JournalPhysical Review B
Volume106
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

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