%0 Journal Article
%T Large spin-orbit coupling in carbon nanotubes
%A G. A. Steele
%A F. Pei
%A E. A. Laird
%A J. M. Jol
%A H. B. Meerwaldt
%A L. P. Kouwenhoven
%J Physics
%D 2013
%I arXiv
%R 10.1038/ncomms2584
%X It has recently been recognized that the strong spin-orbit interaction present in solids can lead to new phenomena, such as materials with non-trivial topological order. Although the atomic spin-orbit coupling in carbon is weak, the spin-orbit coupling in carbon nanotubes can be significant due to their curved surface. Previous works have reported spin-orbit couplings in reasonable agreement with theory, and this coupling strength has formed the basis of a large number of theoretical proposals. Here we report a spin-orbit coupling in three carbon nanotube devices that is an order of magnitude larger than measured before. We find a zero-field spin splitting of up to 3.4 meV, corresponding to a built-in effective magnetic field of 29 T aligned along the nanotube axis. While the origin of the large spin-orbit coupling is not explained by existing theories, its strength is promising for applications of the spin-orbit interaction in carbon nanotubes devices.
%U http://arxiv.org/abs/1304.3234v1