Weak-Localization-Like Temperature-Dependent Conductivity of a Dilute Two-Dimensional Hole Gas in a Parallel Magnetic Field

Xuan P. A. Gao; Allen P. Mills, Jr; Arthur P. Ramirez; Loren N. Pfeiffer; Kenneth W. West

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.016801

Weak-Localization-Like Temperature-Dependent Conductivity of a Dilute Two-Dimensional Hole Gas in a Parallel Magnetic Field

Xuan P. A. Gao, Allen P. Mills, Jr., Arthur P. Ramirez, Loren N. Pfeiffer, and Kenneth W. West

Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 016801 – Published 12 June 2002

Abstract

We have studied the magnetotransport properties of a high mobility two-dimensional hole gas (2DHG) in a 10 nm GaAs quantum well with densities in the range of $(0.7 - 1.6) \times 10^{10} {cm}^{- 2}$ on the metallic side of the zero-field “metal-insulator transition.” In a parallel field well above $B_{c}$ that suppresses the metallic conductivity, the 2DHG exhibits a conductivity $Δ g (T) \approx (1 / π) (e^{2} / h) \ln T$ reminiscent of weak localization for Fermi liquids. The experiments are consistent with the coexistence of two phases in our system: a metallic phase and a weakly insulating Fermi liquid phase.

Received 29 October 2001

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.016801

Authors & Affiliations

Xuan P. A. Gao^1,2, Allen P. Mills, Jr.², Arthur P. Ramirez³, Loren N. Pfeiffer⁴, and Kenneth W. West⁴

¹Department of Applied Physics & Applied Math, Columbia University, New York City, New York 10027
²Department of Physics, University of California, Riverside, California 92521
³Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545
⁴Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974