Saw-induced current through CNT in coulomb blockade regime

Acousto-electric current through a carbon nanotube (CNT) induced by a surface acoustic wave (SAW) was studied. SAW were generated by an inter-digital transducer (IDT) on a quartz substrate and delivered to a CNT to pump electrons along the direction of the SAW propagation. A distinct current plateau was observed as a function of gate voltages and SAW powers. The observed quantized current value was higher than the expected value I=ef by 20 %. A strong interaction between electrons in a 1D wire could be one of the reasons for the discrepancy.