title: Fabrication and characterization of large arrays of mesoscopic gold rings on large-aspect-ratio cantilevers.
abstract: We have fabricated large arrays of mesoscopic metal rings on ultrasensitive cantilevers. The arrays are defined by electron beam lithography and contain up to 10(5) rings. The rings have a circumference of 1 μm, and are made of ultrapure (6N) Au that is deposited onto a silicon-on-insulator wafer without an adhesion layer. Subsequent processing of the SOI wafer results in each array being supported at the end of a free-standing cantilever. To accommodate the large arrays while maintaining a low spring constant, the cantilevers are nearly 1 mm in both lateral dimensions and 100 nm thick. The extreme aspect ratio of the cantilevers, the large array size, and the absence of a sticking layer are intended to enable measurements of the rings' average persistent current ⟨I⟩ in the presence of relatively small magnetic fields. We describe the motivation for these measurements, the fabrication of the devices, and the characterization of the cantilevers' mechanical properties. We also discuss the devices' expected performance in measurements of ⟨I⟩.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA.
authors.forename: D Q
authors.initials: DQ
authors.lastname: Ngo
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Petković
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lollo
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Castellanos-Beltran
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA.
authors.forename: J G E
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Harris