Analysis of discrete conduction spectrum of quantum dots in single electron transistors

The advent of nanoelectronics has brought devices like single electron transistors into the limelight. Such devices are so small that current through them is controlled by addition of or removal of a single electron in the channel. The channels that hold such small values of current are christened coulomb islands or quantum dots. Coulomb islands are extremely small region of a cluster of atoms completely isolated from the contact leads with the help of isolating electrodes. Current flow through these islands is controlled by varying the gate voltage similar to that of a conventional transistor. But the current through these channels is in the form of periodic peaks. This paper is an attempt to explain the behavioral pattern of quantum dots and why they differ in their conductance properties from that of a classical transistor.