Persistent currents in mesoscopic rings

The discrepancy between measured values of the persistent current in mesoscopic rings and theoretical calculations based upon the model of independent electrons moving in a random potential is discussed. Some attempts at including the Coulomb interaction between electrons are reviewed, and results of model calculations are presented.     

Transport properties of mesoscopic graphene rings

Based on a recursive Green's function method, we investigate the conductance of mesoscopic graphene rings in the presence of disorder, in the limit of phase coherent transport. Two models of disorder are considered: edge disorder and surface disorder. Our simulations show that the conductance decreases exponentially with the edge disorder and the surface disorder. In the presence of flux, a clear Aharonov-Bohm conductance oscillation with the period Φ₀ (Φ₀=h/e) is observed. The edge disorder and the surface disorder have no effect on the period of AB oscillation. The amplitudes of AB oscillations vary with gate voltage and flux, which is consistent with the previous results. Additionally, ballistic rectification and negative differential resistance are observed in I-V curves, with on/off characteristic.     

介观薄圆环中的间隙性超导

本文运用了唯象的Ginzburg-Landau 理论研究了介观薄圆环的间隙性超导, 给出了在外磁场作用下超导圆环出现间隙性超导现象的尺寸相图. 这种间隙性超导现象只出现在尺寸小圆环中, 而且是超导圆环区别于超导圆盘的一个特征.     

Intermittent superconductivity in three-dimensional mesoscopic rings

Three-dimensional mesoscopic rings are investigated by the phenomenological Ginzburg–Landau theory in the presence of an externally applied magnetic-field. By solving an eigenvalue problem and minimizing systematic free energy, we find that the superconducting and normal states cyclically appear, and that between the state L and the state L + 1 the field extent of existing normal state increases with increase of vorticity L. The dimensional phase diagram with the maximum vorticity and existing normal state between two superconducting states is given. The normal state can be controlled by the medium with surface enhancement or suppression of superconductivity.     

Persistent currents in mesoscopic connected rings

We report measurements of the low temperature magnetic response of a line of 16 GaAs/GaAlAs connected mesoscopic rings whose total length is much larger than l(straight phi). Using an on-chip micro-SQUID technology, we have measured a periodic response, with period h/e, corresponding to persistent currents in the rings of a typical amplitude of 0.40+/-0.08 nA per ring. Direct comparison with measurements on the same rings but isolated is presented.     

Photoinduced charge currents in mesoscopic rings

The temporal and spatial controllability of charge distribution in submicron structures opens new avenues for potential applications and for the understanding of nonequilibrium processes. Here we suggest a novel way to trigger and control within picoseconds charge currents and magnetic moments in nanoscopic and mesoscopic ring structures by applying two shaped, time-delayed light pulses. Our quantum dynamic calculations show that the magnitude and direction of the induced currents are tunable by varying the time delay and strengths of the pulses. Furthermore, in an array of rings desirable magnetic orders are generated depending on the ring sizes and particle number.     

Interference and interactions in mesoscopic rings

We consider a mesoscopic ring connected to external reservoirs by tunnel junctions. The ring is capacitively coupled to an external gate electrode and may be pierced by a magnetic field. Due to strong electron–electron interactions within the ring the conductance shows Coulomb blockade oscillations as a function of the gate voltage, while Aharonov–Bohm interference effects lead to a dependence on the magnetic flux. The Hamiltonian of the ring is given by a Luttinger model that allows for an exact treatment of both interaction and interference effects. We conclude that the positions of conductance maxima as a function the external parameters can be used to determine the interaction parameter , and the shapes of conductance peaks are strongly affected by electron correlations within the ring.     

Diamagnetic orbital response of mesoscopic silver rings

We report measurements of the flux-dependent orbital magnetic susceptibility of an ensemble of 10(5) disconnected silver rings at 217 MHz. Because of the strong spin-orbit scattering rate in silver this experiment is a test of existing theories on ensemble averaged persistent currents. Below 100 mK the rings exhibit a magnetic signal with a flux periodicity of h/2e consistent with averaged persistent currents, whose amplitude is of the order of 0.3 nA. The sign of the oscillations indicates unambiguously diamagnetism in the vicinity of zero magnetic field. This sign is a priori not consistent with theoretical predictions for average persistent currents. We discuss several possible explanations of this result.     

Cross section of inelastic polarized neutron scattering by superconducting rings

A general expression for the cross section of inelastic magnetic scattering of cold polarized neutrons by superconducting rings has been derived. In this scattering process, the metastable superconducting current changes via quantum jumps corresponding to a decrease in the number of fluxoids in the superconducting ring by one or several units and the change in the energy of the ring is transferred to the kinetic energy of the scattered neutron. For rings from type-II superconductors with a thickness smaller than the field penetration depth but larger than the electron mean free path, the cross sections of inelastic scattering with neutron spin flip have been obtained for the first time. The possibility of increasing the cross section of neutron scattering by a system of rings has been discussed.     

Transverse electric fields in mesoscopic normal rings

A quantum mechanical estimate of the electric field within a normal metal ring is made. In the clean limit, the voltage drop across a ring threaded by Aharonov-Bohm flux contains a large flux-independent part and a small flux-periodic part. The results agree with the Bernoulli theorem.     

Persistent spin currents in mesoscopic Heisenberg rings

We show that at low temperatures T an inhomogeneous radial magnetic field with magnitude B gives rise to a persistent magnetization current around a mesoscopic ferromagnetic Heisenberg ring. Under optimal conditions, this spin current can be as large as gmicro(B)(T/ variant Planck's over 2pi )exp([-2pi(gmicro(B)B/delta)(1/2)], as obtained from leading-order spin-wave theory. Here g is the gyromagnetic factor, micro(B) is the Bohr magneton, and delta is the energy gap between the ground-state and the first spin-wave excitation. The magnetization current endows the ring with an electric dipole moment.     

Giant persistent currents in quasiperiodic mesoscopic rings

Giant persistent currents that occur in quasiperiodic Thue–Morse array of mesoscopic rings are proposed. As the order of the system increases, the maximum persistent current increases exponentially. The giant persistent current in a system with higher order is greater than that in traditional structures. It is found that the maximum persistent current occurs in the ring near the middle position of the array. The persistent current is also proportional to the sharpness of the transport resonance, which is dependent on the width of the allowed band in the bandstructure. A rule to determine the occurrence energy of the giant persistent currents for a system with arbitrary order is also proposed.