Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
<mark>Journal publication date</mark> | 1/12/1994 |
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<mark>Journal</mark> | Journal of Applied Physics |
Issue number | 1 |
Volume | 76 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Pages (from-to) | 376-384 |
Publication Status | Published |
<mark>Original language</mark> | English |
We present the first experimental results on a spatially-resolved investigation of a SET (single-electron tunneling) circuit using the method of low temperature scanning electron microscopy. The new technique can be operated with short electron beam pulses down to 1 μs and small beam current below 1 pA, which gives the value of the charge per pulse as low as one elementary charge. By recording the circuit voltage response to the modulated electron beam irradiation as a function of the beam coordinates on the circuit, we were able to image the potentials of different parts of the circuit. For a SET-transistor which displayed the Coulomb blockade we found evidence of memory-effects due to charge trapping in the vicinity of one of the junctions. Further possible applications of our method for the spatially resolved study of single-electron circuits are suggested.