Quasiclassical calculation of magnetoresistance oscillations of a two-dimensional electron gas in spatially periodic magnetic and electrostatic fields.

Abstract

A classical approach, relating magnetoresistance oscillations of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in a weak lateral superlattice to the guiding center drift of cyclotron orbits, is extended to superlattices defined by spatially periodic electrostatic and magnetic fields of arbitrary shape but equal lattice constants. The results are applied to the experimentally relevant situation of modulation fields produced by periodic arrays of magnetized strips or dots on the surface of a heterostructure containing a 2DEG. Magnetic modulation fields of different symmetries, tuned by the orientation of the magnetization, are superimposed on the stress-induced electrostatic modulation and lead to characteristic interference effects on the Weiss oscillations of the magnetoresistance. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.