Electron confinement and correlation in double quantum well single charge electrometers

Single electron transistors and other related device concepts have been proposed for use in a variety of quantum information processing applications. Central to the application of these devices is not only single electron confinement and sensitivity, but the ability to discriminate between the singlet and triplet states for indirect measurement of electron spin. In this talk, we will describe theoretical and numerical results for a new device based on InGaAs/InP double quantum well structures (see related talk by H.D. Robinson et al) that demonstrate that single electron confinement is achievable in this structure. In addition, we will discuss properties related to spin readout such as the the singlet-triplet energy splitting of two-electron states as well as the role of electron correlation effects in this device.