Proposal for a magnetic field induced graphene dot

Quantum dots induced by a strong magnetic field applied to a single layer of graphene in the perpendicular direction are investigated. The dot is defined by a model potential which consists of a well of depth ΔV relative to a flat asymptotic part and quantum states formed from the zeroth Landau level are considered. The energy of the dot states cannot be lower than −ΔV relative to the asymptotic potential. Consequently, when ΔV is chosen to be about half of the gap between the zeroth and first Landau levels, the dot states are isolated energetically in the gap between Landau level 0 and Landau level -1. This is confirmed with numerical calculations of the magnetic field dependent energy spectrum and the quantum states. Remarkably, an antidot formed by reversing the sign of ΔV also confines electrons but in the energy region between Landau level 0 and Landau level +1. This unusual behaviour gives an unambiguous signal of the novel physics of graphene quantum dots.