Magnetic properties of parabolic quantum dots in the presence of the spin-orbit interaction

We present a theoretical study of the effect of the spin-orbit interaction on the electron magnetization and magnetic susceptibility of small semiconductor quantum dots. Those characteristics demonstrate quite interesting behavior at low temperature. The abrupt changes of the magnetization and susceptibility at low magnetic fields are attributed to the alternative crossing between the spin-split electron levels in the energy spectrum, essentially due to the spin-orbit interaction (an analog of the general Paschen-Back effect). Detailed calculation using parameters of InAs semiconductor quantum dot demonstrates an enhancement of paramagnetism of the dots. There is an additional possibility to control the effect by external electric fields or the dot design. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.