Single Electron Pump Allows Scientists to Transfer Precise Packets of Charge

Scientists of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) achieved to transfer very small charge "packets", comprising a well-defined number of few electrons, between metallic electrons precisely by using a single-electron pump.

A single-electron transistor, being able to resolve charge variations of a single electron or less, served as a charge detector to monitor the charge movement. The successful experiment is an important milestone on the way to the setup of a new standard for capacitance, where a capacitor is charged by a well-known number of electrons.

The corresponding voltage can be measured using a Josephson voltage standard. Tracing the capacitance to a resistance via the quantum-Hall effect finally allows the realisation of the so-called "Quantum Metrological Triangle", which establishes a link between all three electrical quantum effects. The precision aimed at in the experiment requires the demonstrated manipulation of charge on the scale of a single electron.