Recent experimental studies of electron transport in open quantum dots

Recent advances in semiconductor microprocessing technology now allow the realization of sub-micron sized quantum dots, which are quasi-zero-dimensional devices in which current flow is confined on length scales approaching the Fermi wavelength of the electrons. The influence of disorder is thought to be strongly suppressed in these devices, so that electrons propagate while mainly undergoing large-angle scattering at the walls of the dot. At sufficiently low temperatures, electron phase coherence is maintained over long distances and coherent interference of electrons becomes an important process in determining the electrical behaviour of the dots. In this review, we focus on a number of issues revealed by recent experimental studies of open dots, such as fractal magneto-conductance fluctuations, wavefunction scarring due to selectively excited periodic orbits, and novel 'ratchet' behaviour in non-equilibrium studies.