Weak antilocalization in a strained InGaAs/InP quantum well structure

Weak antilocalization (WAL) effect due to the interference corrections to the conductivity has been studied experimentally in a strained InGaAs/InP quantum well structure. From measurements in tilted magnetic filed, it was shown that both weak localization and WAL features depend only on the normal component of the magnetic field for tilt angles less than 84 degrees. Weak antilocalization effect showed non-monotonous dependence on the gate voltage which could not be explained by either Rashba or Dresselhouse mechanisms of the spin-orbit coupling. To describe magnetic field dependence of the conductivity, it was necessary to assume that spin-orbit scattering time depends on the external magnetic field which quenches the spin precession around effective, spin-orbit related, magnetic fields.Comment: Presented at EP2DS 2003 (Nara), to be published in Physica

The microwave induced resistance response of a high mobility 2DEG from the quasi-classical limit to the quantum Hall regime

Microwave induced resistance oscillations (MIROs) were studied experimentally over a very wide range of frequencies ranging from ~20 GHz up to ~4 THz, and from the quasi-classical regime to the quantum Hall effect regime. At low frequencies regular MIROs were observed, with a periodicity determined by the ratio of the microwave to cyclotron frequencies. For frequencies below 150 GHz the magnetic field dependence of MIROs waveform is well described by a simplified version of an existing theoretical model, where the damping is controlled by the width of the Landau levels. In the THz frequency range MIROs vanish and only pronounced resistance changes are observed at the cyclotron resonance. The evolution of MIROs with frequency are presented and discussed.Comment: 4 pages, presented at EP2DS, to be published in Physica

Time Resolved Control of Electron Tunnelling Times and Single-shot Spin Readout in a Quantum Dot

We are pursuing a capability to perform time resolved manipulations of single spins in quantum dot circuits involving more than two quantum dots. In this paper, we demonstrate full counting statistics as well as averaging techniques we use to calibrate the tunnel barriers. We make use of this to implement the Delft protocol for single shot single spin readout in a device designed to form a triple quantum dot potential. We are able to tune the tunnelling times over around three orders of magnitude. We obtain a spin relaxation time of 300 microseconds at 10T.Comment: Submitted to EP2DS 2009 Conference Proceeding

Microwave radiation induced magneto-oscillations in the longitudinal and transverse resistance of a two dimensional electron gas

We confirm the existance of magneto-resistance oscillations in a microwave-irradiated two-dimensional electron gas, first reported in a series of papers by Zhudov et al. and Mani et al. In our experiments, on a sample with a more moderate mobility, the microwave induced oscillations are observed not only in the longitudinal - but also in the transverse-resistance (Hall resistance). The phase of the oscillations is such that the decrease (increase) in the longitudinal resistance is accompanied by an increase (decrease) in the absolute value of the Hall resistance. We believe that these new results provide valuable new information to better understand the origin of this interesting phenomenon.Comment: Accepted for publication in journal of Solid State Comunication

Electron transport in gated InGaAs and InAsP quantum well wires in selectively-grown InP ridge structures

The purpose of this work is to fabricate ribbon-like InGaAs and InAsP wires embedded in InP ridge structures and investigate their transport properties. The InP ridge structures that contain the wires are selectively grown by chemical beam epitaxy (CBE) on pre-patterned InP substrates. To optimize the growth and micro-fabrication processes for electronic transport, we explore the Ohmic contact resistance, the electron density, and the mobility as a function of the wire width using standard transport and Shubnikov-de Haas measurements. At low temperatures the ridge structures reveal reproducible mesoscopic conductance fluctuations. We also fabricate ridge structures with submicron gate electrodes that exhibit non-leaky gating and good pinch-off characteristics acceptable for device operation. Using such wrap gate electrodes, we demonstrate that the wires can be split to form quantum dots evidenced by Coulomb blockade oscillations in transport measurements.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, additional references and improved Fig. 4c, MSS-14 conference, submitted to Physica

Experimental study of weak antilocalization effect in a high mobility InGaAs/InP quantum well

The magnetoresistance associated with quantum interference corrections in a high mobility, gated InGaAs/InP quantum well structure is studied as a function of temperature, gate voltage, and angle of the tilted magnetic field. Particular attention is paid to the experimental extraction of phase-breaking and spin-orbit scattering times when weak anti- localization effects are prominent. Compared with metals and low mobility semiconductors the characteristic magnetic field $B_{tr} = \hbar/4eD \tau$ in high mobility samples is very small and the experimental dependencies of the interference effects extend to fields several hundreds of times larger. Fitting experimental results under these conditions therefore requires theories valid for arbitrary magnetic field. It was found, however, that such a theory was unable to fit the experimental data without introducing an extra, empirical, scale factor of about 2. Measurements in tilted magnetic fields and as a function of temperature established that both the weak localization and the weak anti-localization effects have the same, orbital origin. Fits to the data confirmed that the width of the low field feature, whether a weak localization or a weak anti-localization peak, is determined by the phase-breaking time and also established that the universal (negative) magnetoresistance observed in the high field limit is associated with a temperature independent spin-orbit scattering time.Comment: 13 pages including 10 figure

Persistent spin splitting of a two-dimensional electron gas in tilted magnetic fields

By varying the orientation of the applied magnetic field with respect to the normal of a two-dimensional electron gas, the chemical potential and the specific heat reveal persistent spin splitting in all field ranges. The corresponding shape of the thermodynamic quantities distinguishes whether the Rashba spin-orbit interaction RSOI, the Zeeman term or both dominate the splitting. The interplay of the tilting of the magnetic field and RSOI resulted to an amplified splitting in weak fields. The effects of changing the RSOI strength and the Landau level broadening are also investigated.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Two-subband electron transport in nonideal quantum wells

Electron transport in nonideal quantum wells (QW) with large-scale variations of energy levels is studied when two subbands are occupied. Although the mean fluctuations of these two levels are screened by the in-plane redistribution of electrons, the energies of both levels remain nonuniform over the plane. The effect of random inhomogeneities on the classical transport is studied within the framework of a local response approach for weak disorder. Both short-range and small-angle scattering mechanisms are considered. Magnetotransport characteristics and the modulation of the effective conductivity by transverse voltage are evaluated for different kinds of confinement potentials (hard wall QW, parabolic QW, and stepped QW).Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Morphologies of Sol–Gel Derived Thin Films of ZnO Using Different Precursor Materials and their Nanostructures

We have shown that the morphological features of the sol–gel derived thin films of ZnO depend strongly on the choice of the precursor materials. In particular, we have used zinc nitrate and zinc acetate as the precursor materials. While the films using zinc acetate showed a smoother topography, those prepared by using zinc nitrate exhibited dendritic character. Both types of films were found to be crystalline in nature. The crystallite dimensions were confined to the nanoscale. The crystallite size of the nanograins in the zinc nitrate derived films has been found to be smaller than the films grown by using zinc acetate as the precursor material. Selected area electron diffraction patterns in the case of both the precursor material has shown the presence of different rings corresponding to different planes of hexagonal ZnO crystal structure. The results have been discussed in terms of the fundamental considerations and basic chemistry governing the growth kinetics of these sol–gel derived ZnO films with both the precursor materials

Effects of biased and unbiased illuminations on two-dimensional electron gases in dopant-free GaAs/AlGaAs

Illumination is performed at low temperature on dopant-free two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) of varying depths, under unbiased (gates grounded) and biased (gates at a positive or negative voltage) conditions. Unbiased illuminations in 2DEGs located more than 70 nm away from the surface result in a gain in mobility at a given electron density, primarily driven by the reduction of background impurities. In 2DEGs closer to the surface, unbiased illuminations result in a mobility loss, driven by an increase in surface charge density. Biased illuminations performed with positive applied gate voltages result in a mobility gain, whereas those performed with negative applied voltages result in a mobility loss. The magnitude of the mobility gain (loss) weakens with 2DEG depth, and is likely driven by a reduction (increase) in surface charge density. Remarkably, this mobility gain/loss is fully reversible by performing another biased illumination with the appropriate gate voltage, provided both Formula Presented-type and Formula Presented-type Ohmic contacts are present. Experimental results are modeled with Boltzmann transport theory, and possible mechanisms are discussed