Cooling a nanomechanical resonator by a triple quantum dot

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Published 3 August 2011 Europhysics Letters Association
, , Citation Zeng-Zhao Li et al 2011 EPL 95 40003 DOI 10.1209/0295-5075/95/40003

0295-5075/95/4/40003

Abstract

We propose an approach for achieving ground-state cooling of a nanomechanical resonator (NAMR) capacitively coupled to a triple quantum dot (TQD). This TQD is an electronic analog of a three-level atom in Λ configuration which allows an electron to enter it via lower-energy states and to exit only from a higher-energy state. By tuning the degeneracy of the two lower-energy states in the TQD, an electron can be trapped in a dark state caused by destructive quantum interference between the two tunneling pathways to the higher-energy state. Therefore, ground-state cooling of an NAMR can be achieved when electrons absorb readily and repeatedly energy quanta from the NAMR for excitations.

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