636 research outputs found
Single-Electron Effects in a Coupled Dot-Ring System
Aharonov-Bohm oscillations are studied in the magnetoconductance of a
micron-sized open quantum ring coupled capacitively to a Coulomb-blockaded
quantum dot. As the plunger gate of the dot is modulated and tuned through a
conductance resonance, the amplitude of the Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in the
transconductance of the ring displays a minimum. We demonstrate that the effect
is due to a single-electron screening effect, rather than to dephasing.
Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in a quantum ring can thus be used for the detection
of single charges.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Imaging the lateral shift of a quantum-point contact using scanning-gate microscopy
We perform scanning-gate microscopy on a quantum-point contact. It is defined
in a high-mobility two-dimensional electron gas of an AlGaAs/GaAs
heterostructure, giving rise to a weak disorder potential. The lever arm of the
scanning tip is significantly smaller than that of the split gates defining the
conducting channel of the quantum-point contact. We are able to observe that
the conducting channel is shifted in real space when asymmetric gate voltages
are applied. The observed shifts are consistent with transport data and
numerical estimations.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Full electrical control of Charge and Spin conductance through Interferometry of Edge States in Topological Insulators
We investigate electron interferometry of edge states in Topological
Insulators. We show that, when inter-boundary coupling is induced at two
quantum point contacts of a four terminal setup, both Fabry-P\'erot-like and
Aharonov-Bohm-like loop processes arise. These underlying interference effects
lead to a full electrically controllable system, where the magnitude of charge
and spin linear conductances can be tuned by gate voltages, without applying
magnetic fields. In particular we find that, under appropriate conditions,
inter-boundary coupling can lead to negative values of the conductance.
Furthermore, the setup also allows to selectively generate pure charge or pure
spin currents, by choosing the voltage bias configuration.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures (expanded discussion section, corrected typos
Phase coherence in the inelastic cotunneling regime
Two quantum dots with tunable mutual tunnel coupling have been embedded in a
two-terminal Aharonov-Bohm geometry. Aharonov-Bohm oscillations are
investigated in the cotunneling regime. Visibilities of more than 0.8 are
measured indicating that phase-coherent processes are involved in the elastic
and inelastic cotunneling. An oscillation-phase change of pi is detected as a
function of bias voltage at the inelastic cotunneling onset.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Isospin phases of vertically coupled double quantum rings under the influence of perpendicular magnetic fields
Vertically coupled double quantum rings submitted to a perpendicular magnetic
field are addressed within the local spin-density functional theory. We
describe the structure of quantum ring molecules containing up to 40 electrons
considering different inter-ring distances and intensities of the applied
magnetic field. When the rings are quantum mechanically strongly coupled, only
bonding states are occupied and the addition spectrum of the artificial
molecules resembles that of a single quantum ring, with some small differences
appearing as an effect of the magnetic field. Despite the latter has the
tendency to flatten the spectra, in the strong coupling limit some clear peaks
are still found even when that can be interpretated from the
single-particle energy levels analogously as at zero applied field, namely in
terms of closed-shell and Hund's-rule configurations. Increasing the inter-ring
distance, the occupation of the first antibonding orbitals washes out such
structures and the addition spectra become flatter and irregular. In the weak
coupling regime, numerous isospin oscillations are found as a function of .Comment: 27 pages, 11 figures. To be published in Phys. Rev.
Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in the presence of strong spin-orbit interactions
We have measured highly visible Aharonov-Bohm (AB) oscillations in a ring
structure defined by local anodic oxidation on a p-type GaAs heterostructure
with strong spin-orbit interactions. Clear beating patterns observed in the raw
data can be interpreted in terms of a spin geometric phase. Besides h/e
oscillations, we resolve the contributions from the second harmonic of AB
oscillations and also find a beating in these h/2e oscillations. A resistance
minimum at B=0T, present in all gate configurations, is the signature of
destructive interference of the spins propagating along time-reversed paths.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, published versio
Spin States in Graphene Quantum Dots
We investigate ground and excited state transport through small (d = 70 nm)
graphene quantum dots. The successive spin filling of orbital states is
detected by measuring the ground state energy as a function of a magnetic
field. For a magnetic field in-plane of the quantum dot the Zemann splitting of
spin states is measured. The results are compatible with a g-factor of 2 and we
detect a spin-filling sequence for a series of states which is reasonable given
the strength of exchange interaction effects expected for graphene
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