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| Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in carbon nanotubes |
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| Author(s): Bachtold A, Strunk C, Salvetat JP, Bonard JM, Forro L, Nussbaumer T, Schonenberger C |
| Source: NATURE Volume: 397 Issue: 6721 Pages: 673-675 Published: FEB 25 1999 |
| Times Cited: 403 References: 27 |
| Abstract: When electrons pass through a cylindrical electrical conductor aligned in a magnetic field, their wave-like nature manifests itself as a periodic oscillation in the electrical resistance as a function of the enclosed magnetic flux(1). This phenomenon reflects the dependence of the phase of the electron wave on the magnetic field, known as the Aharonov-Bohm effect(2), which causes a phase difference, and hence interference, between partial waves encircling the conductor in opposite directions. Such oscillations have been observed in micrometre-sized thin-walled metallic cylinders(3-5) and lithographically fabricated rings(6-8). Carbon nanotubes(9,10) are composed of individual graphene sheets rolled into seamless hollow cylinders with diameters ranging from 1 nm to about 20 nm. They are able to act as conducting molecular wires(11-18), making them ideally suited for the investigation of quantum interference at the single-molecule level caused by the Aharonov-Bohm effect. Here we report magnetoresistance measurements on individual multi-walled nanotubes, which display pronounced resistance oscillations as a function of magnetic flux We find that the oscillations are in good agreement with theoretical predictions for the Aharonov-Bohm effect in a hollow conductor with a diameter equal to that of the outermost shell of the nanotubes. In some nanotubes we also observe shorter-period oscillations, which might result from anisotropic electron currents caused by defects in the nanotube lattice. |
| Document Type: Article |
| Language: English |
| Reprint Address: Schonenberger, C (reprint author), Univ Basel, Inst Phys, Klingelbergstr 82, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland |
Addresses:
1. Univ Basel, Inst Phys, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
2. Ecole Polytech Fed Lausanne, Inst Genie Atom, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Publisher: MACMILLAN MAGAZINES LTD, PORTERS SOUTH, 4 CRINAN ST, LONDON N1 9XW, ENGLAND |
| Subject Category: Multidisciplinary Sciences |
| IDS Number: 171AP |
| ISSN: 0028-0836 |
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