Hybrid Metal-Semiconductor Electron Pump for Quantum Metrology

Abstract

Electron pumps capable of delivering a current higher than 100 pA with sufficient accuracy are likely to become the direct mise en pratique of the possible new quantum definition of the ampere. We present here single-island hybrid metal-semiconductor transistor pumps that combine the simplicity and efficiency of Coulomb blockade in metals with the unsurpassed performances of silicon switches. Robust and simple pumping at 650 MHz and 0.5 K is demonstrated. The pumped current obtained over a voltage-bias range of 1.4 mV corresponds to a relative deviation of 5×10^{-4} from the calculated value, well within the 1.5×10^{-3} uncertainty of the measurement setup. Multicharge pumping can be performed. The simple design that is fully integrated into an industrial microelectronics process makes it an ideal candidate for national measurement institutes to realize and share a future quantum ampere.