Oxide heterostructures are versatile platforms with which to research and create novel functional nanostructures. We successfully develop one-dimensional (1D) quantum-wire devices using quantum point contacts on MgZnO/ZnO heterostructures and observe ballistic electron transport with conductance quantized in units of $2{e}^{2}/h$. Using dc-bias and in-plane field measurements, we find that the $g$ factor is enhanced to around 6.8, more than three times the value in bulk ZnO. We show that the effective mass ${m}^{*}$ increases as the electron density decreases, resulting from the strong electron-electron interactions. In this strongly interacting 1D system we study features matching the ``0.7'' conductance anomalies up to the fifth subband. This Rapid Communication demonstrates that high-mobility oxide heterostructures such as this can provide good alternatives to conventional III-V semiconductors in spintronics and quantum computing as they do not have their unavoidable dephasing from nuclear spins. This paves a way for the development of qubits benefiting from the low defects of an undoped heterostructure together with the long spin lifetimes achievable in silicon.

We report anomalous behavior in the energy dispersion of a three-electron double-quantum-dot hybrid qubit and argue that it is caused by atomic-scale disorder at the quantum-well interface. By employing tight-binding simulations, we identify potential disorder profiles that induce behavior consistent with the experiments. The results indicate that disorder can give rise to "sweet spots" where the decoherence caused by charge noise is suppressed, even in a parameter regime where true sweet spots are unexpected. Conversely, "hot spots" where the decoherence is enhanced can also occur. Our results suggest that, under appropriate conditions, interfacial atomic structure can be used as a tool to enhance the fidelity of Si double-dot qubits.

The spatial separation of electron spins followed by the control of their individual spin dynamics has recently emerged as an essential ingredient in many proposals for spin-based technologies because it would enable both of the two spin species to be simultaneously utilized, distinct from most of the current spintronic studies and technologies wherein only one spin species could be handled at a time. Here we demonstrate that the spatial spin splitting of a coherent beam of electrons can be achieved and controlled using the interplay between an external magnetic field and Rashba spin-orbit interaction in semiconductor nanostructures. The technique of transverse magnetic focusing is used to detect this spin separation. More notably, our ability to engineer the spin-orbit interactions enables us to simultaneously manipulate and probe the coherent spin dynamics of both spin species and hence their correlation, which could open a route towards spintronics and spin-based quantum information processing.

We study 95 split gates of different size on a single chip using a multiplexing technique. Each split gate defines a one-dimensional channel on a modulation-doped GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure, through which the conductance is quantized. The yield of devices showing good quantization decreases rapidly as the length of the split gates increases. However, for the subset of devices showing good quantization, there is no correlation between the electrostatic length of the one dimensional channel (estimated using a saddle point model), and the gate length. The variation in electrostatic length and the one-dimensional subband spacing for devices of the same gate length exceeds the variation in the average values between devices of different length. There is a clear correlation between the curvature of the potential barrier in the transport direction and the strength of the "0.7 anomaly": the conductance value of the 0.7 anomaly reduces as the barrier curvature becomes shallower. These results highlight the key role of the electrostatic environment in one-dimensional systems. Even in devices with clean conductance plateaus, random fluctuations in the background potential are crucial in determining the potential landscape in the active device area such that nominally identical gate structures have different characteristics.

Ninety eight one-dimensional channels defined using split gates fabricated on a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure are measured during one cooldown at 1.4 K. The devices are arranged in an array on a single chip, and individually addressed using a multiplexing technique. The anomalous conductance feature known as the "0.7 structure" is studied using statistical techniques. The ensemble of data show that the 0.7 anomaly becomes more pronounced and occurs at lower values as the curvature of the potential barrier in the transport direction decreases. This corresponds to an increase in the effective length of the device. The 0.7 anomaly is not strongly influenced by other properties of the conductance related to density. The curvature of the potential barrier appears to be the primary factor governing the shape of the 0.7 structure at a given T and B.

A multiplexer technique is used to individually measure an array of 256 split gates on a single GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. This results in the generation of large volumes of data, which requires the development of automated data analysis routines. An algorithm is developed to find the spacing between discrete energy levels, which form due to transverse confinement from the split gate. The lever arm, which relates split gate voltage to energy, is also found from the measured data. This reduces the time spent on the analysis. Comparison with estimates obtained visually shows that the algorithm returns reliable results for subband spacing of split gates measured at 1.4 K. The routine is also used to assess direct current bias spectroscopy measurements at lower temperatures (50 mK). This technique is versatile and can be extended to other types of measurements. For example, it is used to extract the magnetic field at which Zeeman-split 1D subbands cross one another.

We present a method of forming and controlling large arrays of gate-defined quantum devices. The method uses a novel, on-chip, multiplexed charge-locking system and helps to overcome the restraints imposed by the number of wires available in cryostat measurement systems. Two device innovations are introduced. Firstly, a multiplexer design which utilises split gates to allow the multiplexer to divide three or more ways at each branch. Secondly we describe a device architecture that utilises a multiplexer-type scheme to lock charge onto gate electrodes. The design allows access to and control of gates whose total number exceeds that of the available electrical contacts and enables the formation, modulation and measurement of large arrays of quantum devices. We fabricate devices utilising these innovations on n-type GaAs/AlGaAs substrates and investigate the stability of the charge locked on to the gates. Proof-of-concept is shown by measurement of the Coulomb blockade peaks of a single quantum dot formed by a floating gate in the device. The floating gate is seen to drift by approximately one Coulomb oscillation per hour.

We utilize a multiplexing architecture to measure the conductance properties of an array of 256 split gates. We investigate the reproducibility of the pinch off and one-dimensional definition voltage as a function of spatial location on two different cooldowns, and after illuminating the device. The reproducibility of both these properties on the two cooldowns is high, the result of the density of the two-dimensional electron gas returning to a similar state after thermal cycling. The spatial variation of the pinch-off voltage reduces after illumination; however, the variation of the one-dimensional definition voltage increases due to an anomalous feature in the center of the array. A technique which quantifies the homogeneity of split-gate properties across the array is developed which captures the experimentally observed trends. In addition, the one-dimensional definition voltage is used to probe the density of the wafer at each split gate in the array on a micron scale using a capacitive model.

The properties of conductance in one-dimensional (1D) quantum wires are statistically investigated using an array of 256 lithographically identical split gates, fabricated on a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. All the split gates are measured during a single cooldown under the same conditions. Electron many-body effects give rise to an anomalous feature in the conductance of a one-dimensional quantum wire, known as the "0.7 structure" (or "0.7 anomaly"). To handle the large data set, a method of automatically estimating the conductance value of the 0.7 structure is developed. Large differences are observed in the strength and value of the 0.7 structure [ from 0.63 to 0.84 x (2e(2)/h)], despite the constant temperature and identical device design. Variations in the 1D potential profile are quantified by estimating the curvature of the barrier in the direction of electron transport, following a saddle-point model. The 0.7 structure appears to be highly sensitive to the specific confining potential within individual devices.

This paper presents a method to tune an arbitrary number of split-gate transistors in series to their threshold voltage, prior to initiating any particular experiment. The model accounts for device variations and considers coupled/uncoupled electrical gates and ballistic/ohmic addition of resistances. Experimental verification of this `zeroing method' is provided by detailed conductance measurements through a two-dimensional electron gas formed in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure with two split-gate transistors in series and is extended to zero an array of up to nine split gates in series.

Two quantum point contacts are used to respectively inject and detect spins by purely electrical means in an all-semiconductor spin transistor. The spin field-effect transistor envisioned by Datta and Das1 opens a gateway to spin information processing2,3. Although the coherent manipulation of electron spins in semiconductors is now possible4,5,6,7,8, the realization of a functional spin field-effect transistor for information processing has yet to be achieved, owing to several fundamental challenges such as the low spin-injection efficiency due to resistance mismatch9, spin relaxation and the spread of spin precession angles. Alternative spin transistor designs have therefore been proposed10,11, but these differ from the field-effect transistor concept and require the use of optical or magnetic elements, which pose difficulties for incorporation into integrated circuits. Here, we present an all-electric and all-semiconductor spin field-effect transistor in which these obstacles are overcome by using two quantum point contacts as spin injectors and detectors. Distinct engineering architectures of spin–orbit coupling are exploited for the quantum point contacts and the central semiconductor channel to achieve complete control of the electron spins (spin injection, manipulation and detection) in a purely electrical manner. Such a device is compatible with large-scale integration and holds promise for future spintronic devices for information processing.

Research in the field of low-temperature electronics is limited by the small number of electrical contacts available on cryogenic set ups. This not only restricts the number of devices that can be fabricated, but also the device and circuit complexity. We present an on-chip multiplexing technique which significantly increases the number of devices locally measurable on a single chip, without the modification of existing fabrication or experimental set-ups. We demonstrate the operation of the multiplexer by performing electrical measurements of 256 quantum wires formed by split-gate devices using only 19 electrical contacts on a cryogenic set-up. The multiplexer allows the measurement of many devices and enables us to perform statistical analyses of various electrical features which exist in quantum wires. We use this architecture to investigate spatial variations of electrical characteristics, and reproducibility on two separate cooldowns. These statistical analyses are necessary to study device yield and manufacturability, in order for such devices to form the building blocks for the realisation of quantum integrated circuits. The multiplexer provides a scalable architecture which makes a whole series of further investigations into more complex devices possible.

Transport measurements in a quasi-one dimensional (1D) quantum wire are reported in the presence of low transverse magnetic field. Differential conductance shows weak quantised plateaus when the 2D electrons are squeezed electrostatically. Application of a small transverse magnetic field (0.2T) enhances the overall degree of quantisation due to the formation of magneto-electric subbands. The results show the role of magnetic field to fine tune the confinement strength in low density wires when interaction gives rise to double row formation.

We present a multiplexing scheme for the measurement of large numbers of mesoscopic devices in cryogenic systems. The multiplexer is used to contact an array of 256 split gates on a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure, in which each split gate can be measured individually. The low-temperature conductance of split-gate devices is governed by quantum mechanics, leading to the appearance of conductance plateaux at intervals of 2e2/h. A fabrication-limited yield of 94% is achieved for the array, and a “quantum yield” is also defined, to account for disorder affecting the quantum behaviour of the devices. The quantum yield rose from 55% to 86% after illuminating the sample, explained by the corresponding increase in carrier density and mobility of the two-dimensional electron gas. The multiplexer is a scalable architecture, and can be extended to other forms of mesoscopic devices. It overcomes previous limits on the number of devices that can be fabricated on a single chip due to the number of electrical contacts available, without the need to alter existing experimental set ups.

We present conductance measurements of quasi-one-dimensional quantum wires affected by random disorder in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. In addition to quantised conductance plateaux, we observe structure superimposed on the conductance characteristics when the channel is wide and the density is low. Magnetic field and temperature are varied to characterize the conductance features which depend on the lateral position of the 1D channel formed in a split-gate device. Our results suggest that there is enhanced backscattering in the wide channel limit, which gives rise to quantum interference effects. When the wires are free of disorder and wide, the confinement is weak so that the mutual repulsion of the electrons forces a single row to split into two. The relationship of this topological change to the disorder in the system will be discussed.

We report measurements of the compressibility of a one-dimensional quantum wire, defined in the upper well of a GaAs/AlGaAs double quantum well heterostructure. A wire defined simultaneously in the lower well probes the ability of the upper wire to screen the electric field from a biased surface gate. The technique is sensitive enough to resolve spin splitting of the subbands in the presence of an in-plane magnetic field. We measure a compressibility signal due to the 0.7 structure and study its evolution with increasing temperature and magnetic field. We see no evidence of the formation of the quasibound state predicted by the Kondo model, instead our data are consistent with theories which predict that the 0.7 structure arises as a result of spontaneous spin polarization.

We present transport measurements in quantum wires, where the electronic system separates into two rows in the weakly‐confined regime, a result of Coulomb repulsion overcoming the confining potential. This transport regime is marked by a jump in conductance from zero to 4e2/h. In wide split‐gate devices this double row was seen to be coupled, leading to the creation of bonding and antibonding states. Using back‐gated devices we tune the carrier density and show a density‐driven transition from single‐ to double‐row transport in the weak confinement regime.