First steps toward a quantum capacitance standard at METAS

Author

Hof, Christian ; Jeanneret, Blaise ; Eichenberger, Ali ; Overney, Frederic ; Lotkhov, Sergey V.

Author_Institution

Swiss Fed. Office of Metrol. & Accreditation, Bern-Wabern, Switzerland

Volume

52

Issue

2

fYear

2003

fDate

4/1/2003 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

604

Lastpage

607

Abstract

In the fifth framework program of the European Commission, several metrology institutes have teamed up in a project (COUNT) aiming at the realization of a primary standard of capacitance based on single electron resistive pumps. In this paper, we report the first steps toward the realization of such a standard at the Swiss Federal Office of Metrology and Accreditation (METAS). The measurement setup is described and a stability diagram of a three-junction electron pump measured at an electronic temperature smaller than 100 mK is shown. Pumping experiments were performed at frequencies up to 5 MHz and the corresponding current plateaus (on the pA level) were measured. These preliminary results are promising for the future of the experiment.

Keywords

capacitance measurement; measurement standards; single electron devices; stability; 100 mK; 5 MHz; COUNT project; European Commission; METAS; Swiss Federal Office of Metrology and Accreditation; current plateaus; electronic temperature; measurement setup; metrology institutes; primary capacitance standard; pumping frequencies; quantum capacitance standard; single electron resistive pumps; stability diagram; three-junction electron pump; Accreditation; Capacitance measurement; Capacitors; Cryogenics; Electrons; Frequency measurement; Measurement standards; Metrology; Quantum capacitance; Voltage;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Instrumentation and Measurement, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9456

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TIM.2003.810035

Filename

1202106