41 research outputs found
Induced currents, frozen charges and the quantum Hall effect breakdown
Puzzling results obtained from torque magnetometry in the quantum Hall effect
(QHE) regime are presented, and a theory is proposed for their explanation.
Magnetic moment saturation, which is usually attributed to the QHE breakdown,
is shown to be related to the charge redistribution across the sample.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings of the 11th International Symposium
"Nanostructures: Physics and Technology", St.Petersburg, Russia, June 23-28,
2003, expanded version with one figure adde
Cyclotron resonance of the quasi-two-dimensional electron gas at Hg1-xCdxTe grain boundaries
The magnetotransmission of a p-type Hg0.766Cd0.234Te bicrystal containing a single grain boundary with an inversion layer has been investigated in the submillimetre wavelength range. For the first time the cyclotron resonance lines belonging to the various electric subbands of a quasi-two-dimensional carrier system at a grain boundary could be detected. The measured cyclotron masses and the subband densities determined from Shubnikov-de Haas experiments are compared with theoretical predictions and it is found that the data can be explained very well within the framework of a triangular well approximation model which allows for non-parabolic effects
Self-consistent local-equilibrium model for density profile and distribution of dissipative currents in a Hall bar under strong magnetic fields
Recent spatially resolved measurements of the electrostatic-potential
variation across a Hall bar in strong magnetic fields, which revealed a clear
correlation between current-carrying strips and incompressible strips expected
near the edges of the Hall bar, cannot be understood on the basis of existing
equilibrium theories. To explain these experiments, we generalize the
Thomas-Fermi--Poisson approach for the self-consistent calculation of
electrostatic potential and electron density in {\em total} thermal equilibrium
to a {\em local equilibrium} theory that allows to treat finite gradients of
the electrochemical potential as driving forces of currents in the presence of
dissipation. A conventional conductivity model with small values of the
longitudinal conductivity for integer values of the (local) Landau-level
filling factor shows that, in apparent agreement with experiment, the current
density is localized near incompressible strips, whose location and width in
turn depend on the applied current.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure
Strong, Ultra-narrow Peaks of Longitudinal and Hall Resistances in the Regime of Breakdown of the Quantum Hall Effect
With unusually slow and high-resolution sweeps of magnetic field, strong,
ultra-narrow (width down to ) resistance peaks are observed in
the regime of breakdown of the quantum Hall effect. The peaks are dependent on
the directions and even the history of magnetic field sweeps, indicating the
involvement of a very slow physical process. Such a process and the sharp peaks
are, however, not predicted by existing theories. We also find a clear
connection between the resistance peaks and nuclear spin polarization.Comment: 5 pages with 3 figures. To appear in PR
Hydrodynamic Equation for the Breakdown of the Quantum Hall Effect in a Uniform Current
The hydrodynamic equation for the spatial and temporal evolution of the
electron temperature T_e in the breakdown of the quantum Hall effect at
even-integer filling factors in a uniform current density j is derived from the
Boltzmann-type equation, which takes into account electron-electron and
electron-phonon scatterings. The derived equation has a drift term, which is
proportional to j and to the first spatial derivative of T_e. Applied to the
spatial evolution of T_e in a sample with an abrupt change of the width along
the current direction, the equation gives a distinct dependence on the current
direction as well as a critical relaxation, in agreement with the recent
experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 1 Postscript figure, corrected equations, to be published in
J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 70 (2001) No.
New insulating phases of two-dimensional electrons in high Landau levels: observation of sharp thresholds to conduction
The intriguing re-entrant integer quantized Hall states recently discovered
in high Landau levels of high-mobility 2D electron systems are found to exhibit
extremely non-linear transport. At small currents these states reflect
insulating behavior of the electrons in the uppermost Landau level. At larger
currents, however, a discontinuous and hysteretic transition to a conducting
state is observed. These phenomena, found only in very narrow magnetic field
ranges, are suggestive of the depinning of a charge density wave state, but
other explanations can also be constructed.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Hydrodynamic Equations in Quantum Hall Systems at Large Currents
Hydrodynamic equations (HDEQs) are derived which describe spatio-temporal
evolutions of the electron temperature and the chemical potential of
two-dimensional systems in strong magnetic fields in states with large diagonal
resistivity appearing at the breakdown of the quantum Hall effect. The
derivation is based on microscopic electronic processes consisting of drift
motions in a slowly-fluctuating potential and scattering processes due to
electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions. In contrast with the usual
HDEQs, one of the derived HDEQs has a term with an energy flux perpendicular to
the electric field due to the drift motions in the magnetic field. As an
illustration, the current distribution is calculated using the derived HDEQs.Comment: 10 pages, 2 Postscript figures, to be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn.
71 (2002) No.
Terahertz photoresponse of AlInSb/InSb/AlInSb quantum well structures
We have studied the photoresponse (transmission and photoconductivity of Corbino-shaped devices) of structures with InSb quantum wells (AlInSb barriers). To characterize the devices, the Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) effect up to magnetic fields B of 7 T and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics at various magnetic fields were measured. Some of the samples showed clearly resolvable SdH oscillations. The I-V curves showed pronounced nonlinearities. The phototransmission and the photoconductivity at various terahertz (THz) frequencies were measured around 2.5 THz generated by a p-Ge laser. From the cyclotron resonance (transmission measurements) we deduced a cyclotron mass of 0.022m0. We also performed photoconductivity measurements on Corbino-shaped devices in the THz frequency range. Oscillations of the photoconductivity with maxima near the minima of the conductivity in the dark were observed. Thus, these devices are potentially suitable for the detection of THz radiation
Quasiclassical negative magnetoresistance of a 2D electron gas: interplay of strong scatterers and smooth disorder
We study the quasiclassical magnetotransport of non-interacting fermions in
two dimensions moving in a random array of strong scatterers (antidots,
impurities or defects) on the background of a smooth random potential. We
demonstrate that the combination of the two types of disorder induces a novel
mechanism leading to a strong negative magnetoresistance, followed by the
saturation of the magnetoresistivity at a value determined
solely by the smooth disorder. Experimental relevance to the transport in
semiconductor heterostructures is discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Quasiclassical magnetotransport in a random array of antidots
We study theoretically the magnetoresistance of a
two-dimensional electron gas scattered by a random ensemble of impenetrable
discs in the presence of a long-range correlated random potential. We believe
that this model describes a high-mobility semiconductor heterostructure with a
random array of antidots. We show that the interplay of scattering by the two
types of disorder generates new behavior of which is absent for
only one kind of disorder. We demonstrate that even a weak long-range disorder
becomes important with increasing . In particular, although
vanishes in the limit of large when only one type of disorder is present,
we show that it keeps growing with increasing in the antidot array in the
presence of smooth disorder. The reversal of the behavior of is
due to a mutual destruction of the quasiclassical localization induced by a
strong magnetic field: specifically, the adiabatic localization in the
long-range Gaussian disorder is washed out by the scattering on hard discs,
whereas the adiabatic drift and related percolation of cyclotron orbits
destroys the localization in the dilute system of hard discs. For intermediate
magnetic fields in a dilute antidot array, we show the existence of a strong
negative magnetoresistance, which leads to a nonmonotonic dependence of
.Comment: 21 pages, 13 figure