Electron transport through mesoscopic rings: Evidence of nano-scale rectifiers

We investigate electronic transport through mesoscopic rings and propose how such rings can be used to design nano-scale rectifiers. A single mesoscopic ring is used for half-wave rectification, while full-wave rectification is achieved by means of two such rings, and in both cases each ring is threaded by a time varying Aharonov-Bohm (AB) flux phi which plays a central role in the rectification action. Within a tight-binding framework, all the calculations are done based on the Green's function formalism. We present numerical results for the two-terminal conductance and current which support the general features of half-wave and full-wave rectifications. Our analysis may be inspiring in designing mesoscopic or nano-scale rectifiers. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.