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Quantum holographic encoding in a two-dimensional electron gas

Nature Nanotechnology volume 4, pages 167–172 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

The ability of the scanning tunnelling microscope to manipulate single atoms and molecules has allowed a single bit of information to be represented by a single atom or molecule. Although such information densities remain far beyond the reach of real-world devices, it has been assumed that the finite spacing between atoms in condensed-matter systems sets a rigid upper limit on information density. Here, we show that it is possible to exceed this limit with a holographic method that is based on electron wavefunctions rather than free-space optical waves. Scanning tunnelling microscopy and holograms comprised of individually manipulated molecules are used to create and detect electronically projected objects with features as small as ∼0.3 nm, and to achieve information densities in excess of 20 bits nm−2. Our electronic quantum encoding scheme involves placing tens of bits of information into a single fermionic state.

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Figure 1: Electronic quantum holography concept.
Figure 2: Holographic page encoding and readout.
Figure 3: Volumetric quantum holography.
Figure 4: Electronic versus atomic writing.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by US Office of Naval Research (YIP/PECASE N00014-02-1-0351), US National Science Foundation (CAREER DMR-0135122 & DMR-0804402), US Department of Energy (DE-AC02-76SF00515) and the Stanford-IBM Center for Probing the Nanoscale. The authors acknowledge the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate fellowship programme (C.R.M. and B.K.F.) and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (H.C.M.) for fellowship support. We thank L. Bozano, M. Brongersma, G. Burr, D. Eigler, G. Fiete, J. Kirtley, P. Kolchin, S. Harris, E. Heller, R. McGorty, V. Manoharan, J. Moon, J. Randel, S.-H. Song and Y. Yamamoto for discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, 94305, California, USA

    Christopher R. Moon, Laila S. Mattos & Hari C. Manoharan

  2. Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, 94305, California, USA

    Brian K. Foster

  3. Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, 94305, California, USA

    Gabriel Zeltzer

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  1. Christopher R. Moon
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  2. Laila S. Mattos
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  3. Brian K. Foster
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  4. Gabriel Zeltzer
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  5. Hari C. Manoharan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hari C. Manoharan.

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Moon, C., Mattos, L., Foster, B. et al. Quantum holographic encoding in a two-dimensional electron gas. Nature Nanotech 4, 167–172 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2008.415

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