C.F. Huang

On the low-field insulator-quantum Hall conductor transitions

Abstract We studied the insulator-quantum Hall conductor transition which separates the low-field insulator from the quantum Hall state of the filling factor ν=4 on a gated two-dimensional GaAs electron system containing self-assembled InAs quantum dots. To enter the ν=4 quantum Hall state directly from the low-field insulator, the two-dimensional system undergoes a crossover from the low-field localization to Landau quantization. The crossover, in fact, covers a wide range with respect to the magnetic field rather than only a small region near the critical point of the insulator-quantum Hall conductor transition.

Two-subband-populated AlGaN∕GaN heterostructures probed by electrically detected and microwave-modulated magnetotransport measurements

The authors apply the microwave-modulated technique to study the transport properties of two-subband-populated AlGaN∕GaN heterostructures. The microwave modulation enhances the small Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations at low magnetic fields, providing a direct way to compare the mobilities of different subbands from the experimental data. In addition, this technique can help us to determine the subband-energy separation, especially when the population of the second subband is much lower than that of the first one. Variation of subband-energy separation due to different spacer thicknesses is obtained. Therefore, the authors showed a powerful way to probe parameters of two-subband-populated AlGaN∕GaN heterostructures.

Probing Landau quantization with the presence of insulator?quantum Hall transition in a GaAs two-dimensional electron system

Magneto-transport measurements are performed on the two-dimensional electron system (2DES) in an AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure. By increasing the magnetic field perpendicular to the 2DES, magneto-resistivity oscillations due to Landau quantization can be identified just near the direct insulator–quantum Hall (I–QH) transition. However, different mobilities are obtained from the oscillations and transition point. Our study shows that the direct I–QH transition does not always correspond to the onset of strong localization.

Probing semiclassical magneto-oscillations in the low-field quantum Hall effect

The low-field quantum Hall effect is investigated on a two-dimensional electron system in an AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure. Magneto-oscillations following the semiclassical Shubnikov-de Haas formula are observed even when the emergence of the mobility gap shows the importance of quantum localization effects. Moreover, the Lifshitz-Kosevich formula can survive as the oscillating amplitude becomes large enough for the deviation to the Dingle factor. The crossover from the semiclassical transport to the description of quantum diffusion is discussed. From our study, the difference between the mobility and cyclotron gaps indicates that some electron states away from the Landau-band tails can be responsible for the semiclassical behaviors under low-field Landau quantization.

From insulator to quantum Hall liquid at low magnetic fields

We have performed low-temperature transport measurements on a GaAs two-dimensional electron system at low magnetic fields. Multiple temperature-independent points and accompanying oscillations are observed in the longitudinal resistivity between the low-field insulator and the quantum Hall (QH) liquid. Our results support the existence of an intermediate regime, where the amplitudes of magneto-oscillations can be well described by conventional Shubnikov\char21{}de Haas theory, between the low-field insulator and QH liquid.

A delta-doped quantum well system with additional modulation doping

A delta-doped quantum well with additional modulation doping may have potential applications. Utilizing such a hybrid system, it is possible to experimentally realize an extremely high two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) density without suffering inter-electronic-subband scattering. In this article, the authors report on transport measurements on a delta-doped quantum well system with extra modulation doping. We have observed a 0-10 direct insulator-quantum Hall (I-QH) transition where the numbers 0 and 10 correspond to the insulator and Landau level filling factor ν = 10 QH state, respectively. In situ titled-magnetic field measurements reveal that the observed direct I-QH transition depends on the magnetic component perpendicular to the quantum well, and the electron system within this structure is 2D in nature. Furthermore, transport measurements on the 2DEG of this study show that carrier density, resistance and mobility are approximately temperature (T)-independent over a wide range of T. Such results could be an advantage for applications in T-insensitive devices.

Probing the onset of strong localization and electron–electron interactions with the presence of a direct insulator–quantum Hall transition

Abstract We have performed low-temperature transport measurements on a disordered two-dimensional electron system (2DES). Features of the strong localization leading to the quantum Hall effect are observed after the 2DES undergoes a direct insulator–quantum Hall transition on increasing the perpendicular magnetic field. However, such a transition does not correspond to the onset of strong localization. The temperature dependences of the Hall resistivity and Hall conductivity reveal the importance of the electron–electron interaction effects for the observed transition in our study.

Insulator, semiclassical oscillations and quantum Hall liquids at low magnetic fields

Magneto-transport measurements are performed on two-dimensional GaAs electron systems to probe the quantum Hall (QH) effect at low magnetic fields. Oscillations following the Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) formula are observed in the transition from the insulator to QH liquid when the observed almost temperature-independent Hall slope indicates insignificant interaction correction. Our study shows that the existence of SdH oscillations in such a transition can be understood based on the non-interacting model.

From semiclassical transport to quantum Hall effect under low-field Landau quantization

Abstract The crossover from the semiclassical transport to the quantum Hall effect is studied by examining a two-dimensional electron system in an AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure. By probing the magneto-oscillations, it is shown that the semiclassical Shubnikov–de Haas (SdH) formulation can be valid even when the minima of the longitudinal resistivity approach zero. The extension of the applicable range of the SdH theory could be due to the damping effects resulting from disorder and temperature. Moreover, we observed plateau–plateau transition-like behavior with such an extension. From our study, it is important to include positive magnetoresistance to refine the SdH theory.

Experimental studies of low-field landau quantization in two-dimensional electron systems in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures

By applying a magnetic field perpendicular to GaAs/AlGaAs two-dimensional electron systems, we study the low-field Landau quantization when the thermal damping is reduced with decreasing the temperature. Magneto-oscillations following Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) formula are observed even when their amplitudes are so large that the deviation to such a formula is expected. Our experimental results show the importance of the positive magneto-resistance to the extension of SdH formula under the damping induced by the disorder.