On Thermometer Operation of Ultrasmall Tunnel Junctions

Abstract

The temperature dependence of the I-V characteristics of many single-electron tunneling devices enable thermometer operation of these systems. We investigate two normal conducting kinds of them, {\sl (a)} a single junction in a high-impedance environment, and {\sl (b)} a double junction. The characteristics of both devices show a crossover from Coulomb blockade at low temperatures to ohmic behavior at high temperatures. The related differential conductivity dip allows the determination of the junctions temperature. Both configurations {\sl (a)} and {\sl (b)} are expected to work at least within the range $0.5\leβE_{\rm C}\le 10$, where $E_{\rm C}$ is the Coulomb energy of the system under investigation. We present an analytical solution for both low- and high-temperature case of {\sl (a)} and {\sl (b)} as well as numerical results and their fit, including the effect of co-tunneling in case of a double junction.