Observation of sequential spin flips in quantum rings

Abstract

We observe strong signatures of spin flips in quantum rings exposed to external magnetic fields in the Coulomb blockade regime. The signatures appear as a pattern of lines corresponding to local reduction of conductance, and they cover a large range of magnetic fields and number of electrons. The sequence of lines, as well as other features in the conductance, can be captured by many-electron calculations within density-functional theory. The calculations show that most lines in the pattern correspond to sequential spin flips between filling factors 2 and 1. We believe that the ability to probe individual spin flips provides an important step toward precise spin control in quantum ring devices. © 2011 American Physical Society.