Topological boundary states in engineered quantum-dot molecules on the InAs(111)A surface

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Pham, Van Dong, Pan, Yi, Erwin, Steven C., von Oppen, Felix, Kanisawa, Kiyoshi, Fölsch, Stefan
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Pham, Van Dong
Pan, Yi
Erwin, Steven C.
von Oppen, Felix
Kanisawa, Kiyoshi
Fölsch, Stefan
author_facet Pham, Van Dong
Pan, Yi
Erwin, Steven C.
von Oppen, Felix
Kanisawa, Kiyoshi
Fölsch, Stefan
contents Atom manipulation by scanning tunneling microscopy was used to construct quantum dots on the InAs(111)A surface. Each dot comprised six ionized indium adatoms. The positively charged adatoms create a confining potential acting on surface-state electrons, leading to the emergence of a bound state associated with the dot. By lining up the dots into N-dot chains with alternating tunnel coupling between them, quantum-dot molecules were constructed that revealed electronic boundary states as predicted by the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model of one-dimensional topological phases. Dot chains with odd N were constructed such that they host a single end or domain-wall state, allowing one to probe the localization of the boundary state on a given sublattice by scanning tunneling spectroscopy. We found probability density also on the forbidden sublattice together with an asymmetric energy spectrum of the chain-confined states. This deviation from the SSH model arises because the dots are charged and create a variation in onsite potential along the chain - which does not remove the boundary states but shifts their energy away from the midgap position. Our results demonstrate that topological boundary states can be created in quantum-dot arrays engineered with atomic-scale precision.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2406_13347
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Topological boundary states in engineered quantum-dot molecules on the InAs(111)A surface
Pham, Van Dong
Pan, Yi
Erwin, Steven C.
von Oppen, Felix
Kanisawa, Kiyoshi
Fölsch, Stefan
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Atom manipulation by scanning tunneling microscopy was used to construct quantum dots on the InAs(111)A surface. Each dot comprised six ionized indium adatoms. The positively charged adatoms create a confining potential acting on surface-state electrons, leading to the emergence of a bound state associated with the dot. By lining up the dots into N-dot chains with alternating tunnel coupling between them, quantum-dot molecules were constructed that revealed electronic boundary states as predicted by the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model of one-dimensional topological phases. Dot chains with odd N were constructed such that they host a single end or domain-wall state, allowing one to probe the localization of the boundary state on a given sublattice by scanning tunneling spectroscopy. We found probability density also on the forbidden sublattice together with an asymmetric energy spectrum of the chain-confined states. This deviation from the SSH model arises because the dots are charged and create a variation in onsite potential along the chain - which does not remove the boundary states but shifts their energy away from the midgap position. Our results demonstrate that topological boundary states can be created in quantum-dot arrays engineered with atomic-scale precision.
title Topological boundary states in engineered quantum-dot molecules on the InAs(111)A surface
topic Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.13347