Spin interference of holes in silicon one-dimensional rings

Abstract

We present the findings of the spin interference effect revealed by the quantum point contact inserted within one of the arms of the Rashba gate-controlled ring that is embedded in the p-type self-assembled silicon quantum well prepared on the n-type Si (1 0 0) surface. The amplitude and phase sensitivity of the “0.7 (2 e 2/ h)” feature of the hole quantum conductance staircase are studied by varying the value of the top gate voltage and revealed by the Aharonov–Casher (AC) conductance oscillations. Besides, the variations of the “0.7 (2 e 2/ h)” feature caused by the Rashba spin–orbit interaction (SOI) are found to take in the fractional form with both the plateaux and steps as a function of the top gate voltage.