Ultra-low-noise transimpedance amplifier with a single HEMT in pre-amplifier for measuring shot noise in cryogenic STM

Abstract

In this work, a design of transimpedance amplifier (TIA) for cryogenic scanning tunneling microscope (CryoSTM) is proposed. TIA with the tip-sample component in CryoSTM is called as CryoSTM-TIA. With transimpedance gain of 1 G$\Omega$, the bandwidth of the CryoSTM-TIA is larger than 200 kHz. The distinctive feature of the proposed CryoSTM-TIA is that its pre-amplifier is made of a single cryogenic high electron mobility transistor (HEMT), so the apparatus equivalent input noise current power spectral density at 100 kHz is lower than 6 (fA)${}^2$/Hz. In addition, “bias-cooling method” can be used to in-situ control the density of the frozen DX${}^{-}$ centers in the HEMT doping area, changing its structure to reduce the device noises. With this apparatus, fast scanning tunneling spectra measurements with high-energy-resolution are capable to be performed. And, it is capable to measure scanning tunneling shot noise spectra (STSNS) at the atomic scale for various quantum systems, even if the shot noise is very low. It provides a powerful tool to investigate novel quantum states by measuring STSNS, such as detecting the existence of Majorana bound states in the topological quantum systems.