Observation of a hybridization gap in cyclotron resonance spectra of semimetallic InAs/GaSb quantum wells

Splitting of the cyclotron resonance (CR) line is observed in the electron CR spectra of InAs/GaSb heterostructures containing tunneling-coupled electron and hole layers. This splitting is interpreted to be a manifestation of a hybridization gap arising as a result of anticrossing of the Landau levels of electrons and holes when their wave functions overlap. The energy splitting of the CR lines is correlated with the magnitude of the overlap and agrees with theoretical estimates of the hybridization gap width. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 69, No. 4, 313–317 (25 February 1999)     

Low-magnetic-field divergence of the electronic g factor obtained from the cyclotron spin-flip mode of the nu=1 quantum Hall ferromagnet

We report an inelastic light scattering study of the cyclotron spin-flip mode in the two-dimensional electron system at filling nu=1. The energy of this mode can serve as a probe of the many-body exchange interaction on short length scales. Its magnetic field dependence is compared with predictions based on Hartree-Fock theory. They agree well when including the nonzero width of the electron system. From the measured energies, the exchange enhanced g factor is extracted. It diverges at small fields and differs largely from g factors obtained via transport activation studies.     

Reversible activation of diblock copolymer monolayers at the interface by pH modulation, 1: Lateral chain density and conformation

This study focuses on the design of chemically regulated surfaces that allow for reversible control of the interactions between biological matter (cells and proteins) and planar substrates. As a tunable interlayer, we use a monolayer of a near-monodisperse poly[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate-block-methyl methacrylate] (PDMAEMA-PMMA) diblock copolymer. Owing to the relatively large fraction (50%) of the hydrophobic PMMA block, this copolymer forms a stable Langmuir monolayer at the air/water interface. Both in situ and ex situ film balance experiments suggest that the hydrophilic PDMAEMA block adsorbs to the air/water interface in its uncharged state (pH 8.5), but stretches into the subphase in its charged state (pH 5.5). Optimization of the preparation protocols enables us to fabricate stable, homogeneous diblock copolymer films on hydrophobized substrates via Langmuir-Schaefer transfer at well-defined lateral chain densities. Ellipsometry and X-ray reflectivity studies of the transferred films confirm that the film thickness can be systematically regulated by the lateral chain densities. The transferred copolymer films remain stable in water for about a week, suggesting that they are promising materials for the creation of pH-controlled solid substrates for the support of biological matter such as proteins and cells.     

Coupled quantum dots: manifestation of an artificial molecule

Transport spectroscopy reveals the microscopic features of few-electron quantum dots which justify the nameartificial atoms. New physics evolve when two quantum dots are coupled by a tunneling barrier. We study, both theoretically and experimentally, the tunneling spectroscopy on a double quantum dot. A detailed lineshape analysis of the conductance resonances proves that off-resonant coherent interdot tunneling governs transport through this system, while tunneling into the double quantum dot occurs resonantly. This coherent interdot tunneling witnesses the evolution of a delocalized electronic state which can be compared to a valence electron of thisartificial molecule.     

Manifestation of exitonic effects in the magneto-oscillations of the intensity of the recombination radiation of 2D electrons

A study is made of the temperature dependence of the magnetooscillations of the recombination radiation of 2D electrons from the photoexcited size-quantization subband in an isolated GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well. It is shown that at high temperatures (T>10 K) the period of the oscillations is determined by the ratio of the intersubband energy splitting and the sum of the electron and hole cyclotron energies. It is found that as the temperature decreases (T<5 K), a new series of oscillations (with the same period but with a larger phase shift), which are associated with the appearance of excitonic states under the Landau levels, appears. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 10, 719–724 (25 November 1996)     

Thermally activated dissipative conductivity in the fractional quantum Hall effect regime

Experimental investigations of thermally activated dissipative conductivity σ_xx in the fractional quantum Hall effect at filling factors v=1/3 and near zero were performed with GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction based field-effect transistors with an electronic channel. To within our accuracy of 10%, the pre-exponential factor measured for v=1/3 is equal to 2e*2/h (e*=e/3 is the charge of the quasiparticles), the value expected for the case when the quasielectrons and quasiholes make the same contribution to the conductivity. The observed change in the temperature dependence of the conductivity when n deviates from 1/3 is associated with the change in the filling of the energy levels of the quasielectrons and quasiholes and indicates that there is no gap in the quasiparticle density of states averaged over the sample. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 63, No. 1, 67–72 (10 January 1996)     

Observation of plasmon-polariton modes in two-dimensional electron systems

A manifestation of retardation effects, which were predicted theoretically more than 35 years ago, is revealed for the first time in the plasma excitation spectrum of a two-dimensional electron system with a high electron mobility. It is shown that a significant decrease in the resonant plasma frequency due to a hybridization of the plasma and light modes is observed in zero magnetic field. An unusual dependence of the frequency of the hybrid cyclotron-plasmon mode on the magnetic field has been observed in a perpendicular magnetic field. The experimental results are in good quantitative agreement with the theory.     

Magneto-optics of zero-dimensional electron systems

Photoluminescence spectroscopy has been used to probe the occupied electron states below the Fermi energy of zero-dimensional electron systems (0DESs) in both zero and finite magnetic fields. The arrays of modulation-doped quantum dots investigated were fabricated by both reactive-ion etching and strain-confining GaAs heterojunctions with a -layer of Be present in the GaAs, in order to improve luminescence efficiency. For the etched quantum dots we show that the low magnetic field dispersion T) of the acceptor recombination line is directly related to the magnetic field dependence of the total ground-state energy of interacting electrons in the quantum dots. For the strain-confined 0DESs we have mapped the magneto-dispersion of the quantum confined electron states to reveal 15 electrons per dot.     

Cyclotron resonance in asymmetric double quantum wells

Far-infrared magnetotransmission measurements in magnetic fields are carried out on asymmetric coupled double wells. We observe a splitting in the cyclotron resonance (CR) line for a wide range of intermediate magnetic fields and only one line at high magnetic fields. Two peaks observed in the CR spectra correspond to transitions between Landau levels in individual wells. We propose that phase transition between weak and strong coupling regimes may be responsible for the features. The characteristics of the transition are studied via an analysis of CR masses, CR splitting and line widths as a function of the magnetic field.