Hall effect in a magnetic field parallel to interfaces of a III-V semiconductor quantum well

Abstract

We have discovered that the spin-orbit coupling of electrons confined in a III-V semiconductor quantum well gives rise to an anomalous Hall current when both magnetic field and electric field are applied parallel to interfaces of the well. This Hall current is always perpendicular to the electric field, and depends strongly on the orientations of the electric and magnetic fields with respect to crystal axes. The Hall current is larger in samples with lower electron mobility. Our theory predicts that this effect can be observed in asymmetric quantum wells grown along the [011] direction, but not in [001]- and [111]-oriented quantum wells.