arXiv subjects

E. P. De Poortere

Publications and source records attributed to E. P. De Poortere.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2004

Giant low-temperature piezoresistance effect in AlAs two-dimensional electrons

We present piezoresistance measurements in modulation doped AlAs quantum wells where the two-dimensional electron system occupies two conduction band valleys with elliptical Fermi contours. Our data demonstrate that, at low temperatures, the strain gauge factor (the fractional change in resistance divided by the sample's fractional length change) in this system exceeds 10,000. Moreover, in the presence of a moderate magnetic field perpendicular to the plane of the two-dimensional system, gauge factors up to 56,000 can be achieved. The piezoresistance data can be explained qualitatively by a simple model that takes into account intervalley charge transfer.

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arXiv2004

Spin Polarization Dependence of the Coulomb Drag at Large $r_{s}$

We find that the temperature dependence of the drag resistivity ($ρ_{D}$) between two dilute two-dimensional hole systems exhibits an unusual dependence upon spin polarization. Near the apparent metal-insulator transition, the temperature dependence of the drag, given by $T^α$, weakens with the application of a parallel magnetic field ($B_{||}$), with $α$ saturating at half its zero field value for $B_{||} > B^{*}$, where $B^{*}$ is the polarization field. Furthermore, we find that $α$ is roughly 2 at the parallel field induced metal-insulator transition, and that the temperature dependence of $ρ_{D}/T^{2}$ at different $B_{||}$ looks strikingly similar to that found in the single layer resistivity. In contrast, at higher densities, far from the zero field transition, the temperature dependence of the drag is roughly independent of spin polarization, with $α$ remaining close to 2, as expected from a simple Fermi liquid picture.

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arXiv2004

Spin susceptibility of two-dimensional electrons in narrow AlAs quantum wells

We report measurements of the spin susceptibility in dilute two-dimensional electrons confined to a 45$Å$ wide AlAs quantum well. The electrons in this well occupy an out-of-plane conduction-band valley, rendering a system similar to two-dimensional electrons in Si-MOSFETs but with only one valley occupied. We observe an enhancement of the spin susceptibility over the band value that increases as the density is decreased, following closely the prediction of quantum Monte Carlo calculations and continuing at finite values through the metal-insulator transition.

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arXiv2004

Dependence of spin susceptibility of a two-dimensional electron system on the valley degree of freedom

We report measurements of the spin susceptibility, $χ\propto g_v g^*m^*$, in an AlAs two-dimensional electron system where, via the application of in-plane stress, we transfer electrons from one conduction-band valley to another ($g_v$ is the valley degeneracy, and $m^*$ and $g^*$ are the electron effective mass and g-factor). At a given density, when the two valleys are equally populated ($g_v=2$), the measured $g^*m^*$ is smaller than when only one valley is occupied ($g_v=1$). This observation counters the common assumption that a two-valley two-dimensional system is effectively more dilute than a single-valley system because of its smaller Fermi energy.

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arXiv2004

Ballistic transport in AlAs two-dimensional electrons

We report the observation of commensurability oscillations in an AlAs two-dimensional electron system where two conduction-band valleys with elliptical in-plane Fermi contours are occupied. The Fourier power spectrum of the oscillations shows two frequency components consistent with those expected for the Fermi contours of the two valleys. From an analysis of the spectra we deduce $m_l/m_t=5.2\pm0.5$ for the ratio of the longitudinal and transverse electron effective masses.

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arXiv2003

A Laterally Modulated 2D Electron System in the Extreme Quantum Limit

We report on magnetotransport of a two-dimensional electron system (2DES), located 32 nm below the surface, with a surface superlattice gate structure of periodicity 39 nm imposing a periodic modulation of its potential. For low Landau level fillings $ν$, the diagonal resistivity displays a rich pattern of fluctuations, even though the disorder dominates over the periodic modulation. Theoretical arguments based on the combined effects of the long-wavelength, strong disorder and the short-wavelength, weak periodic modulation present in the 2DES qualitatively explain the data.

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arXiv2003

A Hybrid Al(0.10)Ga(0.90)As/AlAs Bilayer Electron System

We have fabricated a device composed of two closely coupled two-dimensional electron systems, one of which resides within an AlAs quantum well (QW) at the X point of the Brillouin zone (BZ), while the other is contained at the $Γ$ point of the BZ in the alloy Al_{0.10}Ga_{0.90}As, grown directly below the AlAs QW. The electronic properties of these two systems are strongly asymmetric: the respective cyclotron masses in the AlAs and the Al_{0.10}Ga_{0.90}As layers, measured in units of the free electron mass, are 0.46 and 0.07, while the effective electron g-factors are approximately 8.5 and 0. With the help of front and back gates, we can confine mobile carriers to either or both of the two QWs, as confirmed by magnetotransport measurements.

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arXiv2003

Critical Resistance of the Quantum Hall Ferromagnet in AlAs 2D Electrons

Magnetic transitions in AlAs two-dimensional electrons give rise to sharp resistance spikes within the quantum Hall effect. Such spikes are likely caused by carrier scattering at magnetic domain walls below the Curie temperature. We report a critical behavior in the temperature dependence of the spike width and amplitude, from which we deduce the Curie temperature of the quantum Hall ferromagnet. Our data also reveal that the Curie temperature increases monotonically with carrier density.

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arXiv2003

Realization of an Interacting Two-Valley AlAs Bilayer System

By using different widths for two AlAs quantum wells comprising a bilayer system, we force the X-point conduction-band electrons in the two layers to occupy valleys with different Fermi contours, electron effective masses, and g-factors. Since the occupied valleys are at different X-points of the Brillouin zone, the interlayer tunneling is negligibly small despite the close electron layer spacing. We demonstrate the realization of this system via magneto-transport measurements and the observation of a phase-coherent, bilayer $ν$=1 quantum Hall state flanked by a reentrant insulating phase.

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arXiv2003

Layer charge instability in unbalanced bilayer systems in the quantum Hall regime

Measurements in GaAs hole bilayers with unequal layer densities reveal a pronounced magneto-resistance hysteresis at the magnetic field positions where either the majority or minority layer is at Landau level filling factor one. At a fixed field in the hysteretic regions, the resistance exhibits an unusual time dependence, consisting of random, bidirectional jumps followed by slow relaxations. These anomalies are apparently caused by instabilities in the charge distribution of the two layers.

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arXiv2003

Role of density imbalance in an interacting bilayer hole system

We study interacting GaAs hole bilayers in the limit of zero tunneling. When the layers have equal densities, we observe a phase coherent bilayer quantum Hall (QH) state at total filling factor $ν=1$, flanked by insulating phases at nearby fillings which suggest the formation of a pinned, bilayer Wigner crystal. As we transfer charge from one layer to another, the insulating phases disappear while, surprisingly, the $ν=1$ QH state becomes stronger. Concomitantly, a pronounced hysteresis develops in the longitudinal magnetoresistance at higher fillings, indicative of a first-order quantum phase transition.

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arXiv2003

In-Plane Magnetodrag between Dilute Two-Dimensional Systems

We performed in-plane magnetodrag measurements on dilute double layer two-dimensional hole systems, at in-plane magnetic fields that suppress the apparent metallic behavior, and to fields well above those required to fully spin polarize the system. When compared to the single layer magnetoresistance, the magnetodrag exhibits exactly the same qualitative behavior. In addition, we have found that the enhancement to the drag from the in-plane field exhibits a strong maximum when both layer densities are matched.

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arXiv2003

Field-Effect Persistent Photoconductivity

We report a persistent increase or decrease in the two-dimensional electron density of AlAs or GaAs quantum wells flanked by AlGaAs barriers, brought about by illuminating the samples at T ~ 4 K while simultaneously applying a voltage bias between a back gate and the two-dimensional electron gas. Control of the final carrier density is achieved by tuning the back gate bias during illumination. Furthermore, the strength of the persistent photoconductivity depends on the Al mole fraction in the back Al_{x}Ga_{1-x}As barrier, and is largest at $x \simeq 0.4$.

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arXiv2003

Role of finite layer thickness in spin-polarization of GaAs 2D electrons in strong parallel magnetic fields

We report measurements and calculations of the spin-polarization, induced by a parallel magnetic field, of interacting, dilute, two-dimensional electron systems confined to GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures. The results reveal the crucial role the non-zero electron layer thickness plays: it causes a deformation of the energy surface in the presence of a parallel field, leading to enhanced values for the effective mass and g-factor and a non-linear spin-polarization with field.

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arXiv2002

Magnetic Field Induced Spin Polarization of AlAs Two-dimensional Electrons

Two-dimensional (2D) electrons in an in-plane magnetic field become fully spin polarized above a field B_P, which we can determine from the in-plane magnetoresistance. We perform such measurements in modulation-doped AlAs electron systems, and find that the field B_P increases approximately linearly with 2D electron density. These results imply that the product |g*|m*, where g* is the effective g-factor and m* the effective mass, is a constant essentially independent of density. While the deduced |g*|m* is enhanced relative to its band value by a factor of ~ 4, we see no indication of its divergence as 2D density approaches zero. These observations are at odds with results obtained in Si-MOSFETs, but qualitatively confirm spin polarization studies of 2D GaAs carriers.

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arXiv2002

Valley splitting of AlAs two-dimensional electrons in a perpendicular magnetic field

By measuring the angles at which the Landau levels overlap in tilted magnetic fields (the coincidence method), we determine the splitting of the conduction-band valleys in high-mobility two-dimensional (2D) electrons confined to AlAs quantum wells. The data reveal that, while the valleys are nearly degenerate in the absence of magnetic field, they split as a function of perpendicular magnetic field. The splitting appears to depend primarily on the magnitude of the perpendicular component of the magnetic field, suggesting electron-electron interaction as its origin.

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arXiv2002

Frictional Drag between Two Dilute Two-Dimensional Hole Layers

We report drag measurements on dilute double layer two-dimensional hole systems in the regime of r_s=19~39. We observed a strong enhancement of the drag over the simple Boltzmann calculations of Coulomb interaction, and deviations from the T^2 dependence which cannot be explained by phonon-mediated, plasmon-enhanced, or disorder-related processes. We suggest that this deviation results from interaction effects in the dilute regime.

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arXiv2002

Spin polarization and transition from metallic to insulating behavior in 2D systems

We have made quantitative measurements of the spin polarization of two-dimensional (2D) GaAs (100) electrons and GaAs (311)A holes, as a function of an in-plane magnetic field. The functional form of the in-plane magnetoresistance is shown to be intimately related to the spin polarization. Moreover, for three different 2D systems, namely GaAs (100) electrons, GaAs (311)A holes, and AlAs (411)B electrons, the temperature dependence of the in-plane magnetoresistance reveals that their behavior turns from metallic to insulating before they are fully spin polarized.

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