Abstract: By applying an electric field perpendicular to a semiconductor quantum ring we show that it is possible to modify the single particle wave function between quantum dot (QD)-like and ring-like. The constraints on the geometrical parameters of the quantum ring to realize such a transition are derived. With such a perpendicular electric field we are able to tune the Aharanov-Bohm (AB) effect for both the single particle and for excitons. The tunability is in both the strength of the AB effect as well as in its periodicity. We also investigate the strain induce potential inside the self-assembled quantum ring and the effect of the strain on the AB effect.

Abstract: Using an exact-diagonalization approach we show that one- and two-electron InAs quantum dots exhibit an avoided crossing in the energy spectra that is induced by the spin-orbit coupling in the presence of an in-plane external magnetic field. The width of the avoided crossings depends strongly on the orientation of the magnetic field, which reveals the intrinsic anisotropy of the spin-orbit-coupling interactions. We find that for specific orientations of the magnetic field avoided crossings vanish. A value of this orientation can be used to extract the ratio of the strength of Rashba and Dresselhaus interactions. The spin-orbit anisotropy effects for various geometries and orientations of the confinement potential are discussed. Our analysis explains the physics behind the recent measurements performed on a gated self-assembled quantum dot [ S. Takahashi et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 104 246801 (2010)].

Abstract: We derive the extended Ginzburg-Landau (GL) formalism for a clean s-wave two-band superconductor by employing a systematic expansion of the free-energy functional and the corresponding matrix gap equation in powers of the small deviation from the critical temperature tau = 1 – T/T-c. The two lowest orders of this expansion produce the equation for T-c and the standard GL theory. It is shown that in agreement with previous studies, this two-band GL theory maps onto the single-band GL model and thus fails to describe the difference in the spatial profiles of the two-band condensates. We prove that this difference appears already in the leading correction to the standard GL theory, which constitutes the extended GL formalism. We derive linear differential equations that determine the leading corrections to the band order parameters and magnetic field, discuss the validity of these equations, and consider examples of an important interplay between the band condensates. Finally, we present numerical results for the thermodynamic critical magnetic field and temperature-dependent band gaps for recent materials of interest, which are in very good agreement with those obtained from the full BCS approach in a wide temperature range. To this end, we emphasize the advantages of our extended GL theory in comparison with the often used two-component GL-like model based on an unreconstructed two-band generalization of the Gor'kov derivation.

Abstract: Propagation of an electron wave packet through a quantum point contact (QPC) defined by electrostatic gates in bilayer graphene is investigated. The gates provide a bias between the layers, in order to produce an energy gap. If the gates on both sides of the contact produce the same bias, steps in the electron transmission probability are observed, as in the usual QPC. However, if the bias is inverted on one of the sides of the QPC, only electrons belonging to one of the Dirac valleys are allowed to pass, which provides a very efficient valley filtering.

Abstract: The electrical transport properties of a MoGe thin film with a honeycomb array of nanoscale holes are investigated. The critical current of the system shows nonmatching anomalies as a function of applied magnetic field, enabling us to distinguish between multiquanta vortices trapped in the holes and interstitial vortices located between the holes. The number of vortices trapped in each hole is found to be larger than the saturation number predicted for an isolated hole and shows a nonlinear field dependence, leading to the caging effect as predicted from the Ginzburg-Landau (GL) theory. Our experimental results are supplemented by numerical simulations based on the GL theory.

Abstract: We study a mesoscopic superconducting rod with a magnetic dot on its top having its moment oriented along the axis of symmetry. We study the dependence of the vortex pattern with the height and find that for very short and very long rods, the vortex pattern acquires a simple structure, consisting of giant and of multivortex states, respectively. In the long limit, the most stable configuration consists of two vortices, that reach the lateral surface of the rod diametrically opposed. The long rod shows reentrant behavior within some range of its radius and of the dots magnetic moment. Our results are obtained within the Ginzburg-Landau approach in the limit of no magnetic shielding.

Abstract: We analyze theoretically and experimentally vortex configurations in mesoscopic superconducting squares. Our theoretical approach is based on the analytical solution of the London equation using Green's-function method. The potential-energy landscape found for each vortex configuration is then used in Langevin-type molecular-dynamics simulations to obtain stable vortex configurations. Metastable states and transitions between them and the ground state are analyzed. We present our results of the first direct visualization of vortex patterns in micrometer-sized Nb squares, using the Bitter decoration technique. We show that the filling rules for vortices in squares with increasing applied magnetic field can be formulated, although in a different manner than in disks, in terms of formation of vortex “shells”.

Abstract: The superconducting state. of a thin superconducting disk with a hole is studied within the, nonlinear Ginzburg-Landau theory in which the demagnetization effect is accurately taken into account. We find that the flux through the hole is not quantized, the superconducting state is stabilized with increasing size of the hole for fixed radius of the disk, and a transition to a multivortex state is found if the disk is sufficiently large. Breaking the circular symmetry through a non-central-location of the hole in the disk favors the multivortex state.