Superconducting quantum interference devices based set-up for probing current noise and correlations in three-terminal devices.

We have implemented a new experimental set-up for precise measurements of current fluctuations in three-terminal devices. The system operates at very low temperatures (30 mK) and is equipped with three superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) as low noise current amplifiers. A SQUID input coil is connected to each terminal of a sample allowing the acquisition of time-dependent current everywhere in the circuit. From these traces, we can measure the current mean value, the noise, and cross-correlations between different branches of a device. In this paper, we present calibration results of noise and cross-correlations obtained using low impedance macroscopic resistors. From these results, we can extract the noise level of the set-up and show that there are no intrinsic correlations due to the measurement scheme. We also studied noise and correlations as a function of a dc current and estimated the electronic temperature of various macroscopic resistors.

Noise correlations in three-terminal diffusive superconductor-normal-metal-superconductor nanostructures.

We present measurements of current noise and cross correlations in three-terminal superconductor-normal-metal-superconductor (S-N-S) nanostructures that are potential solid-state entanglers thanks to Andreev reflections at the N-S interfaces. The noise-correlation measurements spanned from the regime where electron-electron interactions are relevant to the regime of incoherent multiple Andreev reflection. In the latter regime, negative cross correlations are observed in samples with closely spaced junctions.

Hybrid superconductor-semiconductor devices made from self-assembled SiGe nanocrystals on silicon.

The epitaxial growth of germanium on silicon leads to the self-assembly of SiGe nanocrystals by a process that allows the size, composition and position of the nanocrystals to be controlled. This level of control, combined with an inherent compatibility with silicon technology, could prove useful in nanoelectronic applications. Here, we report the confinement of holes in quantum-dot devices made by directly contacting individual SiGe nanocrystals with aluminium electrodes, and the production of hybrid superconductor-semiconductor devices, such as resonant supercurrent transistors, when the quantum dot is strongly coupled to the electrodes. Charge transport measurements on weakly coupled quantum dots reveal discrete energy spectra, with the confined hole states displaying anisotropic gyromagnetic factors and strong spin-orbit coupling with pronounced dependences on gate voltage and magnetic field.

Divergence at low bias and down-mixing of the current noise in a diffusive superconductor-normal-metal-superconductor junction.

We present current noise measurements in a long diffusive superconductor-normal-metal-superconductor junction in the low voltage regime, in which transport can be partially described in terms of coherent multiple Andreev reflections. We show that, when decreasing voltage, the current noise exhibits a strong divergence together with a broad peak. We ascribe this peak to the mixing between the ac-Josephson current and the noise of the junction itself. We show that the junction noise corresponds to the thermal noise of a nonlinear resistor 4k B T/R with R=V/I(V) and no adjustable parameters.

Doubled full shot noise in quantum coherent superconductor-semiconductor junctions.

We performed low temperature shot noise measurements in superconductor (TiN) strongly disordered normal metal (heavily doped Si) weakly transparent junctions. We show that the conductance has a maximum due to coherent multiple Andreev reflections at low energy and that the shot noise is then twice the Poisson noise (S = 4eI). When the subgap conductance reaches its minimum at finite voltage the shot noise changes to the normal value (S = 2eI) due to a large quasiparticle contribution.