Zero resistance state and origin of the quantized Hall effect in two-dimensional electron systems

Abstract

We investigate 2D electron systems in high magnetic fields in the region where the Permi energy is pinned between Landau levels. In GaAs (AlGaAs heterojunctions we find vanishing resistance ρ xx along the current path and determine an upper limit of ρ xx⩽5×10 −7 Ω □ at 1.23 K In MOSFETs we observe a correlation between sample mobility and stability of the quantized Hall resistance ρ xy . For high mobility specimens the plateau width of ρ xy increases with decreasing mobility. If the Fermi energy is kept between the same Landau levels a linear dependence between magnetic field and plateau width is found. These results are discussed in terms of theoretical considerations based on the existence of magnetic field induced localized states.