  In this work, we investigate the dynamics of a single electron surface trap,
embedded in a self-assembly metallic double-dot system. The charging and
discharging of the trap by a single electron is manifested as a random
telegraph signal of the current through the double-dot device. We find that we
can control the duration time that an electron resides in the trap through the
current that flows in the device, between fractions of a second to more than an
hour. We suggest that the observed switching is the electrical manifestation of
the optical blinking phenomenon, commonly observed in semiconductor quantum
dots.
