  We provide a physical analysis of the charging and detection of the first few
electrons in a laterally-coupled GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dot (LCQD) circuit with
integrated quantum point contact (QPC) read-out. Our analysis is based on the
numerical solution of the Kohn-Sham equation incorporated into a
three-dimensional self-consistent scheme for simulating the quantum device.
Electronic states and eigenenergy spectra reflecting the particular LCQD
confinement shape are obtained as a function of external gate voltages. We also
derive the stability diagram for the first few electrons in the device, and
obtain excellent agreement with experimental data.
