Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Article number | 233405 |
---|---|
<mark>Journal publication date</mark> | 12/2008 |
<mark>Journal</mark> | Physical review B |
Issue number | 23 |
Volume | 78 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Pages (from-to) | - |
Publication Status | Published |
<mark>Original language</mark> | English |
With a view to optimizing the design of carbon-nanotube (CNT) windmills and to maximizing the internal magnetic field generated by chiral currents, we present analytical results for the group-velocity components of an electron flux through chiral carbon nanotubes. Chiral currents are shown to exhibit a rich behavior and can even change sign and oscillate as the energy of the electrons is increased. We find that the transverse velocity and associated angular momentum of electrons are a maximum for nonmetallic CNTs with a chiral angle of 18 degrees. Such CNTs are therefore the optimal choice for CNT windmills and also generate the largest internal magnetic field for a given longitudinal current. For a longitudinal current of order 10(-4) A, this field can be of order 10(-1) T, which is sufficient to produce interesting spintronic effects and a significant contribution to the self-inductance.