Coulomb interaction of two electrons in the quantum dot formed by the surface acoustic wave in a narrow channel

Abstract

A theory is presented for the quantized acoustoelectric current in a narrow quasi-one-dimensional electron channel when a surface acoustic wave (SAW) is launched on the surface of a piezoelectric heterostructure. We consider the case when up to two interacting electrons are captured in the quantum dot formed by the SAW-induced potential in the channel. It is shown that the quantized plateaus in the current as a function of the gate voltage or the SAW power can be explained by the combined effect of the Coulomb blockade in the quantum dot and the backward electron tunneling in the channel.