Pereira, Rodrigo G.Laflorencie, NicolasAffleck, IanHalperin, Bertrand2009-06-172008Pereira, Rodrigo G., Nicolas Laflorencie, Ian Affleck, and Bertrand I. Halperin. 2008. Kondo screening cloud and the charge staircase in one-dimensional mesoscopic devices. Physical Review B 77, no. 12: 125327.1098-0121http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:3110940We propose that the finite size of the Kondo screening cloud, ξK , can be probed by measuring the charge quantization in a one-dimensional system coupled to a small quantum dot. When the chemical potential μ in the system is varied at zero temperature, one should observe charge steps whose locations are at values of μ that are controlled by the Kondo effect when the system size L is comparable to ξK . We show that, if the standard Kondo model is used, the ratio between the widths of the Coulomb blockade valleys with odd or even number of electrons is a universal scaling function of ξK/L . If we take into account electron-electron interactions in a single-channel wire, this ratio also depends on the parameters of the effective Luttinger model; in addition, the scaling is weakly violated by a marginal bulk interaction. For the geometry of a quantum dot embedded in a ring, we show that the dependence of the charge steps on a magnetic flux through the ring is controlled by the size of the Kondo screening cloud.en-USquantum dotsmesoscopic systemsmagnetic fluxLuttinger liquidKondo effectCoulomb blockadechemical potential10.1103/PhysRevB.77.125327