arXiv subjects

S. A. Dvoretsky

Publications and source records attributed to S. A. Dvoretsky.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Two-dimension Dirac fermions system in CdHgTe quantum wells

We report on transport and capacitance spectroscopy study of two kinds of quantum wells, namely Cd$_{0.02}$Hg$_{0.98}$Te and Cd$_{0.06}$Hg$_{0.94}$Te with the thicknesses of 7.4 and 11.5 nm, accordingly. The fraction of Cd was chosen in a way that the both quantum wells are expected to have gapless band structure typical for a Dirac fermions system. We have established that the first quantum well exhibits a massless Dirac fermions system with a quality slightly better then in conventional HgTe quantum wells of critical thickness. Second quantum well exhibits a high-quality two-dimensional topological insulator state with the energy gap of around 10 meV and well-defined edge transport making it as a good candidate for further study and applications of topological insulators.

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arXiv2019

Electronic thermal conductivity in 2D topological insulator in a HgTe quantum well

We have measured the differential resistance in a two-dimensional topological insulator (2DTI) in a HgTe quantum well, as a function of the applied dc current. The transport near the charge neutrality point is characterized by a pair of counter propagating gapless edge modes. In the presence of an electric field, the energy is transported by counter propagating channels in the opposite direction. We test a hot carrier effect model and demonstrate that the energy transfer complies with the Wiedemann Franz law near the charge neutrality point in the edge transport regime.

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arXiv2018

Thermoelectric transport in two-dimensional topological insulator state based on HgTe quantum well

The thermoelectric response of HgTe quantum wells in the state of two-dimensional topological insulator (2D TI) has been studied experimentally. Ambipolar thermopower, typical for an electron-hole system, has been observed across the charge neutrality point, where the carrier type changes from electrons to holes according to the resistance measurements. The hole-type thermopower is much stronger than the electron-type one. The thermopower linearly increases with temperature. We present a theoretical model which accounts for both the edge and bulk contributions to the electrical conductivity and thermoelectric effect in a 2D TI, including the effects of edge to bulk leakage. The model, contrary to previous theoretical studies, demonstrates that the 2D TI is not expected to show anomalies of thermopower near the band conductivity threshold, which is consistent with our experimental results. Based on the experimental data and theoretical analysis, we conclude that the observed thermopower is mostly of the bulk origin, while the resistance is determined by both the edge and bulk transport.

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arXiv2018

High frequency impact ionization and nonlinearity of photocurrent induced by intense terahertz radiation in HgTe-based quantum well structures

We report on a strong nonlinear behavior of the photogalvanics and photoconductivity under excitation of HgTe quantum wells (QWs) by intense terahertz (THz) radiation. The increasing radiation intensity causes an inversion of the sign of the photocurrent and transition to its superlinear dependence on the intensity. The photoconductivity also shows a superlinear raise with the intensity. We show that the observed photoresponse nonlinearities are caused by the band-to-band \emph{light} impact ionization under conditions of a photon energy less than the forbidden gap. The signature of this kind of impact ionization is that the angular radiation frequency $ω=2πf$ is much higher than the reciprocal momentum relaxation time. Thus, the impact ionization takes place solely because of collisions in the presence of a high-frequency electric field. The effect has been measured on narrow HgTe/CdTe QWs of 5.7\,nm width; the nonlinearity is detected for linearly and circularly polarized THz radiation with different frequencies ranging from $f=0.6$ to 1.07\,THz and intensities up to hundreds of kW/cm$^2$. We demonstrate that the probability of the impact ionization is proportional to the exponential function, $\exp(-E_0^2/E^2)$, of the radiation electric field amplitude $E$ and the characteristic field parameter $E_0$. The effect is observable in a wide temperature range from 4.2 to 90\,K, with the characteristic field increasing with rising temperature.

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arXiv2018

Unconventional Reentrant Quantum Hall Effect in a HgTe/CdHgTe Double Quantum Well

We report on observation of an unconventional structure of the quantum Hall effect (QHE) in a $ p$-type HgTe/Cd$_x$Hg$_{1-x}$Te double quantum well (DQW) consisting of two HgTe layers of critical width. The observed QHE is a reentrant function of magnetic field between two $i=2$ states (plateaus at $ρ_{xy}=h/ie^2$) separated by an intermediate $i=1$ state, which looks like some anomalous peak on the extra-long $i=2$ plateau when weakly expressed. The anomalous peak apparently separates two different regimes: a traditional QHE at relatively weak fields for a small density of mobile holes $p_s$ and a high-field QH structure with a $2-1$ plateau--plateau transition corresponding to much larger $p_s$. We show that only a part of holes, residing in an additional light hole subband in the DQW, participate in QHE at weak fields while the rest of holes is excluded into the reservoir formed in the lateral maximum of the valence subband. All the holes come into play at high fields due to a peculiar behavior of the zero-mode levels.

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arXiv2018

Spin splitting of surface states in HgTe quantum wells

We report on beating appearance in Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in conduction band of 18-22nm HgTe quantum wells under applied top-gate voltage. Analysis of the beatings reveals two electron concentrations at the Fermi level arising due to Rashba-like spin splitting of the first conduction subband H1. The difference dN_s in two concentrations as a function of the gate voltage is qualitatively explained by a proposed toy electrostatic model involving the surface states localized at quantum well interfaces. Experimental values of dN_s are also in a good quantitative agreement with self-consistent calculations of Poisson and Schrodinger equations with eight-band kp Hamiltonian. Our results clearly demonstrate that the large spin splitting of the first conduction subband is caused by surface nature of $H1$ states hybridized with the heavy-hole band.

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arXiv2018

Sign-alternating photoconductivity and magnetoresistance oscillations induced by terahertz radiation in HgTe quantum wells

We report on the observation of terahertz radiation induced photoconductivity and of terahertz analog of the microwave-induced resistance oscillations (MIRO) in HgTe-based quantum well (QW) structures of different width. The MIRO-like effect has been detected in QWs of 20 nm thickness with inverted band structure and a rather low mobility of about 3 $\times$ 10$^5$ cm$^2$/V s. In a number of other structures with QW widths ranging from 5 to 20 nm and lower mobility we observed an unconventional non-oscillatory photoconductivity signal which changes its sign upon magnetic field increase. This effect was observed in structures characterized by both normal and inverted band ordering, as well as in QWs with critical thickness and linear dispersion. In samples having Hall bar and Corbino geometries an increase of the magnetic field resulted in a single and double change of the sign of the photoresponse, respectively. We show that within the bolometric mechanism of the photoresponse these unusual features imply a non-monotonic behavior of the transport scattering rate, which should decrease (increase) with temperature for magnetic fields below (above) the certain value. This behavior is found to be consistent with the results of dark transport measurements of magnetoresistivity at different sample temperatures. Our experiments demonstrate that photoconductivity is a very sensitive probe of the temperature variations of the transport characteristics, even those that are hardly detectable using standard transport measurements.

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arXiv2017

Large-scale impurity potential in the quantum Hall effect for the HgTe quantum well with inverted band structure

We report on the longitudinal and Hall resistivities of a HgTe quantum well with inverted energy spectrum (dQW = 20.3 nm) measured in the quantum Hall (QH) regime at magnetic fields up to 9 T and temperatures 2-50 K. The temperature dependence of the QH plateau-plateau transition (PPT) widths and of variable range hopping (VRH) conduction on the Hall plateaus are analyzed. The data are presented in a genuine scale form both for PPT regions and for VRH regime. Estimations for the degree of the carrier localization length divergence reveal a decisive role of the long-range random potential (the potential of remote ionized impurities) in the localization - delocalization processes in the QH regime for the system under study.

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arXiv2017

Two-dimensional semimetal in HgTe quantum well under hydrostatic pressure

We report results of systematic measurements of charge transport properties of the 20.5nm wide HgTe-based quantum well in perpendicular magnetic field, performed under hydrostatic pressures up to 15.1 kbar. At ambient pressure transport is well described by the two-band semiclassical model.In contrast, at elevated pressure, we observed non-monotonic pressure dependence of resistivity at CNP. For pressures lower than $\approx9$ kbar, resistivity grows with pressure, in accord with expectations from the band structure calculations and the model incorporating effects of disorder on transport in 2D semimetals with indirect band overlap. For higher pressures, the resistivity saturates and starts decreasing upon further increase of pressure. Above $\approx14$ kbar the resistance and hopping transport character sharply change, which may indicate formation of the excitonic insulator state. The data also reveals strong influence of disorder on transport in 2D electron-hole system with a small band overlap.

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arXiv2017

Two dimensional topological insulator in quantizing magnetic fields

The effect of quantizing magnetic field on the electron transport is investigated in a two dimensional topological insulator (2D TI) based on a 8 nm (013) HgTe quantum well (QW). The local resistance behavior is indicative of a metal-insulator transition at $B\approx 6$ T. On the whole the experimental data agrees with the theory according to which the helical edge states transport in a 2D TI persists from zero up to a critical magnetic field $B_c$ after which a gap opens up in the 2D TI spectrum.

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arXiv2017

Edge States in Lateral p-n Junctions in Inverted Band HgTe Quantum Wells

We investigate lateral p-n junctions, electrostatically defined in 14 nm-wide HgTe-based quantum wells (QWs) with inverted band structure. The p-n junctions resistances are close to $h/2e^2$, consistent with some previous experiments on 8-10 nm QWs, and the current-voltage characteristics are highly linear, indicating the transport via ballistic helical edge states. Shot noise measurements are performed in order to further verify the underlying transport mechanism. We discuss the role of unknown inelastic relaxation rates in the leads and in the edge channels for the correct interpretation of the noise data. Although the interpretation in favor of the helical edge states seems more consistent, a definite conclusion can not be drawn based on the present experiment. Our approach looks promising for the study of short quasi-ballistic edges in topological insulators (TIs) in suitable geometry.

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arXiv2017

Robust helical edge transport at $ν=0$ quantum Hall state

Among the most interesting predictions in two-dimensional materials with a Dirac cone is the existence of the zeroth Landau level (LL), equally filled by electrons and holes with opposite chirality. The gapless edge states with helical spin structure emerge from Zeeman splitting at the LL filling factor $ν=0$ gapped quantum Hall state. We present observations of a giant nonlocal four-terminal transport in zero-gap HgTe quantum wells at the $ν=0$ quantum Hall state. Our experiment clearly demonstrates the existence of the robust helical edge state in a system with single valley Dirac cone materials.

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arXiv2016

Photogalvanic probing of helical edge channels in 2D HgTe topological insulators

We report on the observation of a circular photogalvanic current excited by terahertz (THz) laser radiation in helical edge channels of HgTe-based 2D topological insulators (TIs). The direction of the photocurrent reverses by switching the radiation polarization from right-handed to left-handed one and, for fixed photon helicity, is opposite for the opposite edges. The photocurrent is detected in a wide range of gate voltages. With decreasing the Fermi level below the conduction band bottom, the current emerges, reaches a maximum, decreases, changes its sign close to the charge neutrality point (CNP), and again rises. Conductance measured over a 7 $μ$m distance at CNP approaches 2e2/h, the value characteristic for ballistic transport in 2D TIs. The data reveal that the photocurrent is caused by photoionization of helical edge electrons to the conduction band. We discuss the microscopic model of this phenomenon and compare calculations with the experimental data.

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arXiv2016

Strong coupling between a permalloy ferromagnetic contact and a helical edge channel in a narrow HgTe quantum well

We experimentally investigate spin-polarized electron transport between a permalloy ferromagnet and the edge of a two-dimensional electron system with band inversion, realized in a narrow, 8~nm wide HgTe quantum well. In zero magnetic field, we observe strong asymmetry of the edge potential distribution with respect to the ferromagnetic ground lead. This result indicates, that the helical edge channel, specific for the structures with band inversion even at the conductive bulk, is strongly coupled to the ferromagnetic side contact, possibly due to the effects of proximity magnetization. It allows selective and spin-sensitive contacting of helical edge states.

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arXiv2016

Temperature-dependent magnetospectroscopy of HgTe quantum wells

We report on magnetospectroscopy of HgTe quantum wells in magnetic fields up to 45 T in temperature range from 4.2 K up to 185 K. We observe intra- and inter-band transitions from zero-mode Landau levels, which split from the bottom conduction and upper valence subbands, and merge under the applied magnetic field. To describe experimental results, realistic temperature-dependent calculations of Landau levels have been performed. We show that although our samples are topological insulators at low temperatures only, the signature of such phase persists in optical transitions at high temperatures and high magnetic fields. Our results demonstrate that temperature-dependent magnetospectroscopy is a powerful tool to discriminate trivial and topological insulator phases in HgTe quantum wells.

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arXiv2015

Andreev reflection at the edge of a two-dimentional semimetal

We investigate electron transport through the interface between a niobium superconductor and the edge of a two-dimensional semimetal, realized in a 20~nm wide HgTe quantum well. Experimentally, we observe that typical behavior of a single Andreev contact is complicated by both a pronounced zero-bias resistance anomaly and shallow subgap resistance oscillations with $1/n$ periodicity. These results are demonstrated to be independent of the superconducting material and should be regarded as specific to a 2D semimetal in a proximity with a superconductor. We interpret these effects to originate from the Andreev-like correlated process at the edge of a two-dimensional semimetal.

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arXiv2015

Probing quantum capacitance in a 3D topological insulator

We measure the quantum capacitance and probe thus directly the electronic density of states of the high mobility, Dirac type of two-dimensional electron system, which forms on the surface of strained HgTe. Here we show that observed magneto-capacitance oscillations probe, in contrast to magnetotransport, primarily the top surface. Capacitance measurements constitute thus a powerful tool to probe only one topological surface and to reconstruct its Landau level spectrum for different positions of the Fermi energy.

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arXiv2015

Magnetotransport in Double Quantum Well with Inverted Energy Spectrum: HgTe/CdHgTe

We present the first experimental study of the double-quantum-well (DQW) system made of 2D layers with inverted energy band spectrum: HgTe. The magnetotransport reveals a considerably larger overlap of the conduction and valence subbands than in known HgTe single quantum wells (QW), which may be regulated by an applied gate voltage $V_g$. This large overlap manifests itself in a much higher critical field $B_c$ separating the range above it where the quantum peculiarities shift linearly with $V_g$ and the range below with a complicated behavior. In the latter case the $N$-shaped and double-$N$-shaped structures in the Hall magnetoresistance $ρ_{xy}(B)$ are observed with their scale in field pronouncedly enlarged as compared to the pictures observed in an analogous single QW. The coexisting electrons and holes were found in the whole investigated range of positive and negative $V_g$ as revealed from fits to the low-field $N$-shaped $ρ_{xy}(B)$ and from the Fourier analysis of oscillations in $ρ_{xx}(B)$. A peculiar feature here is that the found electron density $n$ remains almost constant in the whole range of investigated $V_g$ while the hole density $p$ drops down from the value a factor of 6 larger than $n$ at extreme negative $V_g$ to almost zero at extreme positive $V_g$ passing through the charge neutrality point. We show that this difference between $n$ and $p$ stems from an order of magnitude larger density of states for holes in the lateral valence band maxima than for electrons in the conduction band minimum. We interpret the observed reentrant sign-alternating $ρ_{xy}(B)$ between electronic and hole conductivities and its zero resistivity state in the quantum Hall range of fields on the basis of a calculated picture of magnetic levels in a DQW.

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