skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: A high sensitivity ultralow temperature RF conductance and noise measurement setup

Journal Article · · Review of Scientific Instruments
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3518945· OSTI ID:22062232
; ; ; ; ; ;  [1]
  1. Laboratoire Pierre Aigrain, Ecole Normale Superieure, CNRS UMR 8551, Universite P. et M. Curie, Universite D. Diderot 24, rue Lhomond, 75231 Paris Cedex 05 (France)

We report on the realization of a high sensitivity RF noise measurement scheme to study small current fluctuations of mesoscopic systems at milli-Kelvin temperatures. The setup relies on the combination of an interferometric amplification scheme and a quarter-wave impedance transformer, allowing the measurement of noise power spectral densities with gigahertz bandwidth up to five orders of magnitude below the amplifier noise floor. We simultaneously measure the high frequency conductance of the sample by derivating a portion of the signal to a microwave homodyne detection. We describe the principle of the setup, as well as its implementation and calibration. Finally, we show that our setup allows to fully characterize a subnanosecond on-demand single electron source. More generally, its sensitivity and bandwidth make it suitable for applications manipulating single charges at GHz frequencies.

OSTI ID:
22062232
Journal Information:
Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 82, Issue 1; Other Information: (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0034-6748
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English