Electron pumping through quantum dots defined in parallel etched quantum wires

We present the first results on electron transport through a tuneable-barrier double quantum dot electron pump. This device could yield twice the current to a single-dot pump previously reported [M.D. Blumenthal, B. Kaestner, L. Li, S. Giblin, , T.J.B.M. Janssen, M. Pepper, D. Anderson, G. Jones, D.A. Ritchie, Gigahertz quantized charge pumping, Nat. Phys. 3 (2007) 343], at the same operating frequency. The two quantum wires forming the device were not sufficiently homogeneous for pumping to be observed through both dots simultaneously, but sufficient homogeneity should be attainable in future batches of devices.