AHARONOV–BOHM EFFECT ON QUANTUM TRANSPORT IN SINGLE-WALLED CARBON NANOTUBE INTERFEROMETERS

Abstract

The quantum conductance of the electron interferometers composed of the armchair and metallic zigzag single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in an axial magnetic field lower than 100 T has been studied by using the tight-binding approximation and Landauer–Buttiker formula. Quantum conductance oscillation as a function of gate voltage due to Fabry–Perot like electron interference was found. The analytical expressions of the rapid and slow conductance oscillation periods for the armchair SWNTs have been derived. It is shown that they depend on the magnetic field, gate voltage, and tube length. For the case of the metallic zigzag SWNTs, except rapid conductance oscillation, slow conductance oscillation was also found, which should not exist without the axial magnetic field.