V. T. Dolgopolov

Sharp increase of the effective mass near the critical density in a metallic two-dimensional electron system

We find that at intermediate temperatures, the metallic temperature dependence of the conductivity σ(T) of two-dimensional electrons in silicon is described well by a recent interaction-based theory of Zala et al. [Phys. Rev. B 64, 214204 (2001)]. The tendency of the slope σ - 1 dσ/dT to diverge near the critical electron density is in agreement with the previously suggested ferromagnetic instability in this electron system. Comparing theory and experiment, we arrive at a conclusion that the instability, unexpectedly, originates from the sharp enhancement of the effective mass, while the effective Lande g factor remains nearly constant and close to its value in bulk silicon.

Spin-Independent Origin of the Strongly Enhanced Effective Mass in a Dilute 2D Electron System

We accurately measure the effective mass in a dilute two-dimensional electron system in silicon by analyzing the temperature dependence of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in the low-temperature limit. A sharp increase of the effective mass with decreasing electron density is observed. We find that the enhanced effective mass is independent of the degree of spin polarization, which points to a spin-independent origin of the mass enhancement and is in contradiction with existing theories.

Pauli spin susceptibility of a strongly correlated two-dimensional electron liquid

Thermodynamic measurements reveal that the Pauli spin susceptibility of strongly correlated two-dimensional electrons in silicon grows critically at low electron densities--behavior that is characteristic of the existence of a phase transition.

Critical Behavior of a Strongly Interacting 2D Electron System

With decreasing density n(s) the thermopower S of a low-disorder two-dimensional electron system in silicon is found to exhibit a sharp increase by more than an order of magnitude tending to a divergence at a finite disorder-independent density n(t) consistent with the critical form (-T/S) is proportional to (n(s)-n(t))(x) with x=1.0±0.1 (T is the temperature). Our results provide clear evidence for an interaction-induced transition to a new phase at low density in a strongly interacting 2D electron system.

Strongly enhanced effective mass in dilute two-dimensional electron systems: System-independent origin

We measure the effective mass in a dilute two-dimensional electron system in (111)-silicon by analyzing temperature dependence of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in the low-temperature limit. A strong enhancement of the effective mass with decreasing electron density is observed. The mass renormalization as a function of the interaction parameter r_s is in good agreement with that reported for (100)-silicon, which shows that the relative mass enhancement is system- and disorder-independent being determined by electron-electron interactions only.

Thermodynamic magnetization of a strongly correlated two-dimensional electron system

Abstract We measure thermodynamic magnetization of a low-disordered, strongly correlated two-dimensional electron system in silicon. Pauli spin susceptibility is observed to grow critically at low electron densities—behavior that is characteristic of the existence of a phase transition. A new, parameter-free method is used to directly determine the spectrum characteristics (Landeg-factor and the cyclotron mass) when the Fermi level lies outside the spectral gaps and the inter-level interactions between quasiparticles are avoided. It turns out that, unlike in the Stoner scenario, the critical growth of the spin susceptibility originates from the dramatic enhancement of the effective mass, while the enhancement of the g-factor is weak and practically independent of the electron density.

Ultra-high mobility two-dimensional electron gas in a SiGe/Si/SiGe quantum well

We report the observation of an electron gas in a SiGe/Si/SiGe quantum well with maximum mobility up to 240 m^2/Vs, which is noticeably higher than previously reported results in silicon-based structures. Using SiO, rather than Al_2O_3, as an insulator, we obtain strongly reduced threshold voltages close to zero. In addition to the predominantly small-angle scattering well known in the high-mobility heterostructures, the observed linear temperature dependence of the conductivity reveals the presence of a short-range random potential.

Spin susceptibility and polarization field in a dilute two-dimensional electron system in (111) silicon

We find that the polarization field, B_chi, obtained by scaling the weak-parallel-field magnetoresistance at different electron densities in a dilute two-dimensional electron system in (111) silicon, corresponds to the spin susceptibility that grows strongly at low densities. The polarization field, B_sat, determined by resistance saturation, turns out to deviate to lower values than B_chi with increasing electron density, which can be explained by filling of the upper electron subbands in the fully spin-polarized regime.

Conductivity of a spin-polarized two-dimensional electron liquid in the ballistic regime

In the ballistic regime, the metallic temperature dependence of the conductivity in a two-dimensional electron system in silicon is found to change non-monotonically with the degree of spin polarization. In particular, it fades away just before the onset of complete spin polarization but reappears again in the fully spin-polarized state, being, however, suppressed relative to the zero-field case. Analysis of the degree of the suppression allows one to distinguish between the screening and the interaction-based theories.

Indication of band flattening at the Fermi level in a strongly correlated electron system

Using ultra-high quality SiGe/Si/SiGe quantum wells at millikelvin temperatures, we experimentally compare the energy-averaged effective mass, m, with that at the Fermi level, mF, and verify that the behaviours of these measured values are qualitatively different. With decreasing electron density (or increasing interaction strength), the mass at the Fermi level monotonically increases in the entire range of electron densities, while the energy-averaged mass saturates at low densities. The qualitatively different behaviour reveals a precursor to the interaction-induced single-particle spectrum flattening at the Fermi level in this electron system.