Interference of Aharonov-Bohm ring structures affected by spin-orbit interaction

Gate-controlled Aharonov-Bohm (AB) experiments are performed with two AB-ring samples with different ring diameters in the presence of spin-orbit interaction. For the larger AB-ring, the magnetoresistance at zero magnetic field [R(B = 0)] shows minima in the whole gate voltage range. In both larger and smaller AB-rings, R(B = 0) shows oscillatory behaviors as a function of the gate voltage. The possible reason for this oscillation can be attributed to the phase interference induced by the spin-orbit interaction. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.