198 research outputs found
Local Current Distribution and "Hot Spots" in the Integer Quantum Hall Regime
In a recent experiment, the local current distribution of a two-dimensional
electron gas in the quantum Hall regime was probed by measuring the variation
of the conductance due to local gating. The main experimental finding was the
existence of "hot spots", i.e. regions with high degree of sensitivity to local
gating, whose density increases as one approaches the quantum Hall transition.
However, the direct connection between these "hot spots" and regions of high
current flow is not clear. Here, based on a recent model for the quantum Hall
transition consisting of a mixture of perfect and quantum links, the relation
between the "hot spots" and the current distribution in the sample has been
investigated. The model reproduces the observed dependence of the number and
sizes of "hot spots" on the filling factor. It is further demonstrated that
these "hot spots" are not located in regions where most of the current flows,
but rather, in places where the currents flow both when injected from the left
or from the right. A quantitative measure, the harmonic mean of these currents
is introduced and correlates very well with the "hot spots" positions
Unexpected features of branched flow through high-mobility two-dimensional electron gases
GaAs-based two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) show a wealth of remarkable
electronic states, and serve as the basis for fast transistors, research on
electrons in nanostructures, and prototypes of quantum-computing schemes. All
these uses depend on the extremely low levels of disorder in GaAs 2DEGs, with
low-temperature mean free paths ranging from microns to hundreds of microns.
Here we study how disorder affects the spatial structure of electron transport
by imaging electron flow in three different GaAs/AlGaAs 2DEGs, whose mobilities
range over an order of magnitude. As expected, electrons flow along narrow
branches that we find remain straight over a distance roughly proportional to
the mean free path. We also observe two unanticipated phenomena in
high-mobility samples. In our highest-mobility sample we observe an almost
complete absence of sharp impurity or defect scattering, indicated by the
complete suppression of quantum coherent interference fringes. Also, branched
flow through the chaotic potential of a high-mobility sample remains stable to
significant changes to the initial conditions of injected electrons.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl
Spatially resolved manipulation of single electrons in quantum dots using a scanned probe
The scanning metallic tip of a scanning force microscope was coupled
capacitively to electrons confined in a lithographically defined gate-tunable
quantum dot at a temperature of 300 mK. Single electrons were made to hop on or
off the dot by moving the tip or by changing the tip bias voltage owing to the
Coulomb-blockade effect. Spatial images of conductance resonances map the
interaction potential between the tip and individual electronic quantum dot
states. Under certain conditions this interaction is found to contain a
tip-voltage induced and a tip-voltage independent contribution.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Intersubband Electron Interaction in 1D-2D Junctions
We have shown that the electron transport through junctions of
one-dimensional and two-dimensional systems, as well as through quantum point
contacts, is considerably affected by the interaction of electrons of different
subbands. The interaction mechanism is caused by Friedel oscillations, which
are produced by electrons of the closed subbands even in smooth junctions.
Because of the interaction with these oscillations, electrons of the open
subbands experience a backscattering. The electron reflection coefficient,
which describes the backscattering, has a sharp peak at the energy equal to the
Fermi energy and may be as high as about 0.1. This result allows one to explain
a number of available experimental facts.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Electron-beam propagation in a two-dimensional electron gas
A quantum mechanical model based on a Green's function approach has been used
to calculate the transmission probability of electrons traversing a
two-dimensional electron gas injected and detected via mode-selective quantum
point contacts. Two-dimensional scattering potentials, back-scattering, and
temperature effects were included in order to compare the calculated results
with experimentally observed interference patterns. The results yield detailed
information about the distribution, size, and the energetic height of the
scattering potentials.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Imaging transverse electron focusing in semiconducting heterostructures with spin-orbit coupling
Transverse electron focusing in two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) with
strong spin-orbit coupling is revisited. The transverse focusing is related to
the transmission between two contacts at the edge of a 2DEG when a
perpendicular magnetic field is applied. Scanning probe microscopy imaging
techniques can be used to study the electron flow in these systems. Using
numerical techniques we simulate the images that could be obtained in such
experiments. We show that hybrid edge states can be imaged and that the
outgoing flux can be polarized if the microscope tip probe is placed in
specific positions.Comment: Contribution to the Book/Proceedings of the PITP Les Houches School
on "Quantum Magnetism" held on June, 2006. Final forma
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