We use a scanning capacitance probe to image transport in the quantum Hall system. Applying a DC bias voltage to the tip induces a ring-shaped incompressible strip (IS) in the 2D electron system (2DES) that moves with the tip. At certain tip positions, short-range disorder in the 2DES creates a quantum dot island in the IS. These islands enable resonant tunneling across the IS, enhancing its conductance by more than four orders of magnitude. The images provide a quantitative measure of disorder and suggest resonant tunneling as the primary mechanism for transport across ISs.
The status of the ac quantum Hall effect is reviewed with emphasis on the theoretical development in recent years. In particular, the numerical approaches for the calculation of the frequency dependent Hall and longitudinal conductivities of non-interacting electrons are considered in detail. Results for the frequency scaling at the critical point and for the frequency dependent deviation of the Hall conductivity from the quantised plateau value are presented.
The recent prediction, and subsequent discovery, of the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect in thin films of the three-dimensional ferromagnetic topological insulator (MTI) (Cr$_y$Bi$_x$Sb$_{1-x-y}$)$_2$Te$_3$ has opened new possibilities for chiral-edge-state-based devices in zero external magnetic field. Like the $ u=1$ quantum Hall system, the QAH system is predicted to have a single chiral edge mode circulating along the boundary of the film. Backscattering of the chiral edge mode should be suppressed, as recently verified by the observation of well-quantized Hall resistivities $rho_{yx} = pm h/e^2$, along with longitudinal resistivities as low as a few ohms. Dissipationless 1D conduction is also expected along magnetic domain walls. Here, we intentionally create a magnetic domain wall in a MTI and study electrical transport along the domain wall. We present the first observation of chiral transport along domain walls, in agreement with theoretical predictions. We present further evidence that two modes equilibrate and co-propagate along the length of the domain wall.
We use dynamic scanning capacitance microscopy (DSCM) to image compressible and incompressible strips at the edge of a Hall bar in a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in the quantum Hall effect (QHE) regime. This method gives access to the complex local conductance, Gts, between a sharp metallic tip scanned across the sample surface and ground, comprising the complex sample conductance. Near integer filling factors we observe a bright stripe along the sample edge in the imaginary part of Gts. The simultaneously recorded real part exhibits a sharp peak at the boundary between the sample interior and the stripe observed in the imaginary part. The features are periodic in the inverse magnetic field and consistent with compressible and incompressible strips forming at the sample edge. For currents larger than the critical current of the QHE break-down the stripes vanish sharply and a homogeneous signal is recovered, similar to zero magnetic field. Our experiments directly illustrate the formation and a variety of properties of the conceptually important QHE edge states at the physical edge of a 2DEG.
Quantum wells constitute one of the most important classes of devices in the study of 2D systems. In a double layer QW, the additional which-layer degree of freedom gives rise to celebrated phenomena such as Coulomb drag, Hall drag and exciton condensation. Here we demonstrate facile formation of wide QWs in few-layer black phosphorus devices that host double layers of charge carriers. In contrast to tradition QWs, each 2D layer is ambipolar, and can be tuned into n-doped, p-doped or intrinsic regimes. Fully spin-polarized quantum Hall states are observed on each layer, with enhanced Lande g-factor that is attributed to exchange interactions. Our work opens the door for using 2D semiconductors as ambipolar single, double or wide QWs with unusual properties such as high anisotropy.
We examine the far-field optical response, under-plane wave excitation in the presence of a static magnetic field, of core-shell nanoparticles involving a gyroelectric component, either as the inner or the outer layer, through analytic calculations based on appropriately extended Mie theory. We focus on absorption and scattering of light by bismuth-substituted yttrium iron garnet (Bi:YIG) nanospheres and nanoshells, combined with excitonic materials such as organic-molecule aggregates or two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides, and discuss the hybrid character of the modes emerging from the coupling of the two constituents. We observe the excitation of strong magneto-optic phenomena and explore, in particular, the response and tunability of a magneto-transverse light current, indicative of the photonic Hall effect. We show how interaction between the Bi:YIG and excitonic layers leads to a pair of narrow bands of highly directional scattering, emerging from the aforementioned hybridization, which can be tuned at will by adjusting the geometrical or optical parameters of the system. Our theoretical study introduces optically anisotropic media as promising templates for strong coupling in nanophotonics, offering a means to combine tunable magnetic and optical properties, with potential implications both in the design of all-dielectric photonic devices but also in novel clinical applications.