Acoustoelectric charge transport in quasi-one-dimensional systems
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The study of electron transport in mesoscopic systems has recently turned to the observation of time dependent single electron e ects, where the electron transport is frequency locked to an external potential. Such devices are expected to form the basis of a standard of electric current, long sought after by the metrological community, to provide a representation of the ampere and to be compared with existing quantum standards of the volt and ohm. This thesis details new experimental investigations of one such system. The piezoelectric interaction between an acoustic wave travelling on the surface of a GaAs heterostructure and electrons in a quasi-1D sys- tem de ned therein generates a current which, under certain conditions, can be quantized in units of