We have fabricated large arrays of mesoscopic metal rings on ultrasensitivecantilevers. The arrays are defined by electron beam lithography and contain upto $10^5$ rings. The rings have a circumference of 1 $\mu$m, and are made ofultrapure (6N) Au that is deposited onto a silicon-on-insulator wafer withoutan adhesion layer. Subsequent processing of the SOI wafer results in each arraybeing supported at the end of a free-standing cantilever. To accommodate thelarge arrays while maintaining a low spring constant, the cantilevers arenearly 1 mm in both lateral dimensions and 100 nm thick. The extreme aspectratio of the cantilevers, the large array size, and the absence of a stickinglayer are intended to enable measurements of the rings' average persistentcurrent $\langle I \rangle$ in the presence of relatively small magneticfields. We describe the motivation for these measurements, the fabrication ofthe devices, and the characterization of the cantilevers' mechanicalproperties. We also discuss the devices' expected performance in measurementsof $\langle I \rangle$.
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