The charge-effect transistor

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
We present a theoretical study of the current-voltage characteristic of a new transistor based upon the ‘‘Coulomb blockade.’’ In mesoscopic (submicron) tunnel junctions the flow of current can be blocked by the electrostatic charging energy of a single electron. The charge-effect transistor is composed of two mesoscopic tunnel junctions connected in series with a gate terminal capacitively coupled to the interjunction region. Such a device has been shown to lead to a Coulomb staircase in the current-voltage characteristic when the gate voltage is zero. Here we study the effect of the gate voltage on the current through the device for various ranges of junction parameters. We study junctions made from both normal metal and superconductors. We examine the current noise at different operating points and find it comparable to, but lower than, that in ordinary shot-noise devices.