Topographic Mapping of the Quantum Hall Liquid Using a Few-Electron Bubble

A scanning probe technique was used to obtain a high-resolution map of the random electrostatic potential inside the quantum Hall liquid. A sharp metal tip, scanned above a semiconductor surface, sensed charges in an embedded two-dimensional (2D) electron gas. Under quantum Hall effect conditions, a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2000-07, Vol.289 (5476), p.90-94
Main Authors: Finkelstein, G., Glicofridis, P. I., Ashoori, R. C., Shayegan, M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bubbles
Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties
Contour lines
Contours (Cartography)
Electric fields
Electric potential
Electrical potential
Electron density
Electron, positron and ion microscopes, electron diffractometers and related techniques
Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures
Electronic transport in interface structures
Electrons
Exact sciences and technology
Fluids
Instruments, apparatus, components and techniques common to several branches of physics and astronomy
Integers
Landau levels
Magnetic fields
Mapping
Materials science
Numbers
Physics
Quantum Hall effect
Quantum hall effect (including fractional)
Quantum theory
Topographic maps
Topography
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Description
Summary:A scanning probe technique was used to obtain a high-resolution map of the random electrostatic potential inside the quantum Hall liquid. A sharp metal tip, scanned above a semiconductor surface, sensed charges in an embedded two-dimensional (2D) electron gas. Under quantum Hall effect conditions, applying a positive voltage to the tip locally enhanced the 2D electron density and created a "bubble" of electrons in an otherwise unoccupied Landau level. As the tip scanned along the sample surface, the bubble followed underneath. The tip sensed the motions of single electrons entering or leaving the bubble in response to changes in the local 2D electrostatic potential.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.289.5476.90