AlAs Quantum Wells Research Articles

Nematic Metal in a Multivalley Electron Gas: Variational MonteCarlo Analysis and Application to AlAs.

The two-dimensional electron gas is of fundamental importance in quantum many-body physics. We study a minimal extension of this model with C_{4} (as opposed to full rotational) symmetry and an electronic dispersion with two valleys with anisotropic effective masses. Electrons in our model interact via Coulomb repulsion, screened by distant metallic gates. Using variational MonteCarlo simulations, we find a broad intermediate range of densities with a metallic valley-polarized, spin-unpolarized ground state. Our results are of direct relevance to the recently discovered "nematic" state in AlAs quantum wells. For the effective mass anisotropy relevant to this system, m_{x}/m_{y}≈5.2, we obtain a transition from an anisotropic metal to a valley-polarized metal at r_{s}≈12 (where r_{s} is the dimensionless Wigner-Seitz radius). At still lower densities, we find a (possibly metastable) valley and spin-polarized state with a reduced electronic anisotropy.

Spin dynamics of charged excitons in ultrathin (In,Al)(Sb,As)/AlAs and Al(Sb,As)/AlAs quantum wells with an indirect band gap

The charged exciton recombination and their spin dynamics are studied in ultrathin InSb- and AlSb-based quantum wells (QWs) surrounded by an AlAs matrix characterized by an indirect band gap. Strong material intermixing was observed that results in the QWs being composed of a quaternary ${\mathrm{In}}_{x}{\mathrm{Al}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Sb}}_{y}{\mathrm{As}}_{1\ensuremath{-}y}$ or a ternary ${\mathrm{AlSb}}_{y}{\mathrm{As}}_{1\ensuremath{-}y}$ alloy. The band alignment in these QWs is identified as type I for (In,Al)(Sb,As)/AlAs and type II for Al(Sb,As)/AlAs. The magnetic-field-induced circular polarization of the photoluminescence ${P}_{c}$ is studied as function of the field strength. The observed nonmonotonic behavior of the ${P}_{c}$ dynamics at high magnetic fields is provided by the interplay of negative and positive trions, contributing to the emission. To interpret the experiment, we have developed a kinetic equation model which accounts for the dynamics of the trion spin states and the redistribution of trions between these states as a result of spin relaxation. The model is in quantitative agreement with the experiment and allows us to determine trion radiative lifetimes on the order of hundreds of microseconds, holes in the trion spin-relaxation times also in the hundreds of $\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{s}$ range, electrons in the trion spin-relaxation times of hundreds of ns, and heavy-hole $g$ factors of about $+3.5$ for the structures studied.

Density-dependent two-dimensional optimal mobility in ultra-high-quality semiconductor quantum wells

We calculate using the Boltzmann transport theory the density-dependent mobility of two-dimensional (2D) electrons in GaAs, SiGe, and AlAs quantum wells as well as of 2D holes in GaAs quantum wells. The goal is to precisely understand the recently reported breakthrough in achieving a record 2D mobility for electrons confined in a GaAs quantum well. Comparing our theory with the experimentally reported electron mobility in GaAs quantum wells, we conclude that the mobility is limited by unintentional background random charged impurities at an unprecedented low concentration of $\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{13}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$. We find that this same low level of background disorder should lead to 2D GaAs hole and 2D AlAs electron mobilities of $\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{7}$ and $\ensuremath{\sim}4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{7}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}/\text{V}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\text{s}$, respectively, which are much higher theoretical limits than the currently achieved experimental values in these systems. We therefore conclude that the current GaAs hole and AlAs electron systems are much dirtier than the state-of-the-art 2D GaAs electron systems. We present theoretical results for 2D mobility as a function of density, effective mass, quantum-well width, and valley degeneracy, comparing with experimental data.

Anomalous spin resonance around even fillings in the quantum Hall regime

The electron spin resonance (ESR) of two-dimensional electrons with large effective mass was studied experimentally near even filling factors of the integer quantum Hall effect. Surprisingly, the electron spin resonance did not vanish at the exact even fillings even in the case of large electron densities, where the ground state of the system was previously reported to be paramagnetic. Furthermore, the ESR amplitude was comparable between even and odd fillings. Such anomalous behavior suggests a substantial degree of spin polarization of the even fillings and was observed in two different material systems, namely AlAs quantum wells and ZnO/MgZnO heterojunctions. In AlAs quantum wells, spin resonance tended to split into two well-resolved lines near even fillings whereas it remained a single peak near odd ones. The evolution of ESR with varying filling factor around even fillings is studied in detail. The reported nontrivial findings suggest the modification of the ground state around even filling factors with the aid of strong $e\text{\ensuremath{-}}e$ interaction and may be viewed as a precursor for the Stoner instability.

Editorial Note: Design rules for modulation-doped AlAs quantum wells [Phys. Rev. Materials 1 , 021002(R) (2017)

Editorial Note: Design rules for modulation-doped AlAs quantum wells [Phys. Rev. Materials <b>1</b> , 021002(R) (2017)

Recombination and spin dynamics of excitons in thin (Ga,Al)(Sb,As)/AlAs quantum wells with an indirect band gap and type-I band alignment

The dynamics of exciton recombination and spin relaxation in thin (Ga,Al)(Sb,As)/AlAs quantum wells (QWs) with indirect band gap are studied. The band alignment in these QWs is identified as type I. The exciton recombination time exceeds hundreds of microseconds, while the spin relaxation times of the electron and the heavy hole in an exciton do not exceed hundreds of nanoseconds. The heavy-hole longitudinal $g$ factor is determined to be $+2.5$. Despite the long exciton lifetimes, the photoluminescence circular polarization degree induced by a magnetic field is unexpectedly small and does not exceed $25%$.

Piezoplasmonics: Strain-induced tunability of plasmon resonance in AlAs quantum wells

We demonstrate tuning of a two-dimensional (2D) plasmon spectrum in modulation-doped AlAs quantum wells via the application of in-plane uniaxial strain. We show that the dramatic change in the plasma spectrum is caused by strain-induced redistribution of charge carriers between anisotropic Xx and Xy valleys. The discovered piezoplasmonic effect provides a tool to study the band structure of 2D systems. We use the piezoplasmonic effect to measure how the inter-valley energy splitting depends on the deformation. This dependency yields the AlAs deformation potential of E2=(5.6±0.3) eV.

Quantum paracrystalline shear modes of the electron liquid

Unlike classical fluids, a quantum Fermi liquid can support a long-lived and propagating shear sound wave at arbitrarily small wave vectors and frequencies, reminiscent of the transverse sound in crystals, despite lacking any form of long-range crystalline order. This mode is expected to be present in moderately interacting metals where the quasiparticle mass is renormalized to be more than twice the bare mass in two dimensions (2D), but it has remained undetected because it is hard to excite since it does not involve charge density fluctuations, in contrast to the conventional plasma mode. In this work we propose a strategy to excite and detect this unconventional mode in clean metallic channels. We show that the shear sound is responsible for the appearance of sharp dips in the ac conductance of narrow channels at resonant frequencies matching its dispersion. The liquid resonates while minimizing its dissipation in an analogous fashion to a sliding crystal. Ultra-clean 2D materials that can be tuned towards the Wigner crystallization transition such as silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors, MgZnO/ZnO, p-GaAs, and AlAs quantum wells are promising platforms to experimentally discover the shear sound.

Spin-orbit interaction in AlAs quantum wells

Abstract The spin-orbit coupling was investigated in a series of AlAs quantum wells with different width containing high quality two dimensional electron systems. The interaction between the spin degree of freedom and the orbital motion of the electrons in the regime of the integer quantum Hall effect induced the filling factor dependent renormalization of the electron g-factor. Such g-factor modification probed by electron spin resonance was well resolved in all of the samples studied in a wide range of magnetic fields. Theoretical analysis of this phenomenon allowed us to identify the Dresselhaus-like spin-orbit interaction as the dominant term and to measure its strength β. The value of β turned out to depend rather weakly on the quantum well width, yet such a behavior agrees well with the theoretical calculations. The bulk Dresselhaus constant extracted from the fit turned out to be 3.5 eV × A3.

Achieving balance of valley occupancy in narrow AlAs quantum wells

The terahertz photoconductivity of 100μm and 20μm Hall bars fabricated from narrow AlAs quantum wells (QWs) of different widths is investigated in this paper. The photoresponse is dominated by collective magnetoplasmon excitations within the body of the Hall structure. We observed a radical change of the magnetoplasma spectrum measured precisely for AlAs QWs of widths ranging from 4 nm to 15 nm. We have shown that the observed behavior is a vivid manifestation of valley transition taking place in the two-dimensional electron system. Remarkably, we show that the photoresponse for AlAs QWs with a width of 6 nm features two resonances, indicating simultaneous occupation of strongly anisotropic Xx−y valleys and isotropic Xz valley in the QW plane. Our results pave the way for realizing valley-selective layered heterostructures, with potential applications in valleytronics.

Spin-orbit coupling effects in the quantum Hall regime probed by electron spin resonance

The spin resonance of two-dimensional (2D) electrons confined in a high-quality 4.5-nm AlAs quantum well was studied in the regime of the integer quantum Hall effect. The electron $g$-factor extracted from the magnetic field position of the spin resonance at a fixed microwave frequency demonstrated a strong nonlinear dependence on the magnetic field with discontinuities around even filling factors. The value of the $g$-factor tended to increase with a decrease of the magnetic field around each odd filling. Furthermore, the $g$-factor at the exactly odd filling factor $\ensuremath{\nu}$ turned out to be dependent on $\ensuremath{\nu}$, suggesting the entanglement between the spin degree of freedom and the orbital motion of the electrons in the regime of the integer quantum Hall effect. This suggestion is further supported, as all the experimental data are well described, when a Dresselhaus-type spin-orbit interaction is introduced into the Hamiltonian of a single electron in the quantizing magnetic field. Surprisingly, such excellent agreement was observed even in the case of tilted magnetic fields. The fitting procedure allowed us to determine the strength of the Dresselhaus spin-orbit term in a 2D electron system and to extract the fundamentally important Dresselhaus constant for bulk AlAs. Unexpectedly, not only was single spin resonance observed around even fillings, it tended to split into two well-resolved lines. Yet this finding remains a mystery and highlights the need for further experimental and theoretical efforts.

Valley Stoner instability of the composite Fermi sea

We study two-component electrons in the lowest Landau level at total filling factor $\nu _T=1/2$ with anisotropic mass tensors and principal axes rotated by $\pi/2$ as realized in Aluminum Arsenide (AlAs) quantum wells. Combining exact diagonalization and the density matrix renormalization group we demonstrate that the system undergoes a quantum phase transition from a gapless state in which both flavors are equally populated to another gapless state in which all the electrons spontaneously polarize into a single flavor beyond a critical mass anisotropy of {\bf $m_x/m_y \sim 7$}. We propose that this phase transition is a form of itinerant Stoner transition between a two-component and a single-component composite fermi sea states and describe a set of trial wavefunctions which successfully capture the quantum numbers and shell filling effects in finite size systems as well as providing a physical picture for the energetics of these states. Our estimates indicate that the composite Fermi sea of AlAs is the analog of an itinerant Stoner magnet with a finite spontaneous valley polarization. We pinpoint experimental evidence indicating the presence of Stoner magnetism in the Jain states surrounding $\nu=1/2$.

Multivalley two-dimensional electron system in an AlAs quantum well with mobility exceeding 2×106cm2V−1s−1

Degenerate conduction-band minima, or `valleys', in materials such as Si, AlAs, graphene, and MoS$_2$ allow them to host two-dimensional electron systems (2DESs) that can access a valley degree of freedom. These multivalley 2DESs present exciting opportunities for both pragmatic and fundamental research alike because not only are they a platform for valleytronic devices, but they also provide a tool to tune and investigate the properties of complex many-body ground states. Here, we report ultra-high quality, modulation doped AlAs quantum wells containing 2DESs that occupy two anisotropic valleys and have electron mobilities peaking at $2.4\times10^6$ cm$^{2}$V$^{-1}$s$^{-1}$ at a density of $2.2\times10^{11}$ cm$^{-2}$. This is more than an order of magnitude improvement in mobility over previous results. The unprecedented quality of our samples is demonstrated by magneto-transport data that show high-order fractional quantum Hall minima up to the Landau level filling $\nu=8/17$, and even the elusive $\nu=1/5$ quantum Hall state.

Mobility-Spectrum Analysis of an Anisotropic Material System with a Single-Valley Indirect-Band-Gap Semiconductor Quantum-Well

Full maximum-entropy mobility-spectrum analysis (FMEMSA) is the best algorithm among mobility spectrum analyses by which we can obtain a set of partial-conductivities associated with mobility values (mobility spectrum) by analyzing magnetic-field-dependent conductivity-tensors. However, it is restricted to a direct band-gap semiconductor and should be modified for materials with other band structures. We developed the modified version of FMEMSA which is appropriate for a material with a single anisotropic valley, or an indirect-band-gap semiconductor quantum-well with a single non-degenerate conduction-band valley e.g., (110)-oriented AlAs quantum wells with a single anisotropic valley. To demonstrate the reliability of the modified version, we applied it to several sets of synthetic measurement datasets. The results demonstrated that, unlike existing FMEMSA, the modified version could produce accurate mobility spectra of materials with a single anisotropic valley.

Direct observation of a Γ−X energy spectrum transition in narrow AlAs quantum wells

Spectra of magnetoplasma excitations have been investigated in a two-dimensional electron systems in AlAs quantum wells (QWs) of different widths. The magnetoplasma spectrum have been found to change profoundly when the quantum well width became thinner than $5.5$~nm, indicating a drastic change in the conduction electron energy spectrum. The transformation can be interpreted in terms of transition from the in-plane strongly anisotropic $X_x - X_y$ valley occupation to the out-of-plane isotropic $X_z$ valley in the QW plane. Strong enhancement of the cyclotron effective mass over the band value in narrow AlAs QWs is reported.

Quantum Hall Ferroelectrics and Nematics in Multivalley Systems

We study broken symmetry states at integer Landau level fillings in multivalley quantum Hall systems whose low energy dispersions are anisotropic. When the Fermi surface of individual pockets lacks twofold rotational symmetry, like in Bismuth (111) and in Sn$_{1-x}$Pb$_x$Se (001) surfaces, interactions tend to drive the formation of quantum Hall ferroelectric states. We demonstrate that the dipole moment in these states has an intimate relation to the Fermi surface geometry of the parent metal. In quantum Hall nematic states, like those arising in AlAs quantum wells, we demonstrate the existence of unusually robust skyrmion quasiparticles.

Structural and optical properties of diluted magnetic $$\hbox {Ga}_{{1-x}}\hbox {Mn}_{{x}}$$ Ga 1 - x Mn x As–AlAs quantum wells grown on high-index GaAs planes

We report on the structural and optical properties of $$\hbox {Ga}_{{1-x}}\hbox {Mn}_{{x}}\hbox {As}$$ –AlAs quantum wells (QWs) with $$x = 0.1\%$$ grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on semi-insulating GaAs substrates with orientations (100), (110), (311)B and (411)B. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and photoluminescence (PL) techniques were used to investigate these QWs. AFM results have evidenced the formation of Mn-induced islands, which are randomly distributed on the surface. These islands tend to segregate for samples grown on (110) and (411)B planes, while no clear segregation was observed for samples grown on (100) and (311)B orientations. Results show that the PL line width increases with Mn segregation. XRD measurements were used to determine $$2\theta , d$$ and cell parameters.

ν=2/3 fractional quantum Hall state in an AlAs quantum well probed by electron spin resonance

The electron spin resonance (ESR) of two-dimensional electrons confined in a high-quality, 16-nm AlAs quantum well was investigated near the filling factor $\ensuremath{\nu}=2/3$ of the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE). The spin resonance was robust in the vicinity of the fractional filling $\ensuremath{\nu}=2/3$, indicating that the $\ensuremath{\nu}=2/3$ state is at least partially spin polarized. The formation of the $2/3$ FQHE state did not result in any modifications of the ESR linewidth and, hence, of the electron spin relaxation rate. Yet the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate extracted from the time decay of the ESR Overhauser shift demonstrated a strong nonmonotonic dependence on the electron filling factor with a minimum near $\ensuremath{\nu}=2/3$. This observation suggests the enhancement of the energy gap in the spin excitation spectrum of two-dimensional electrons at the $\ensuremath{\nu}=2/3$ state.

Design rules for modulation-doped AlAs quantum wells

Owing to their multivalley, anisotropic, energy band structure, two-dimensional electron systems (2DESs) in modulation-doped AlAs quantum wells (QWs) provide a unique platform to investigate electron interaction physics and ballistic transport. Indeed, a plethora of phenomena unseen in other 2DESs have been observed over the past decade. However, a foundation for sample design is still lacking for AlAs 2DESs, limiting the means to achieve optimal quality samples. Here, we present a systematic study on the fabrication of modulation-doped AlAs and GaAs QWs over a wide range of ${\mathrm{Al}}_{x}{\mathrm{Ga}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\mathrm{As}$ barrier alloy compositions. Our data indicate clear similarities in modulation doping mechanisms for AlAs and GaAs, and provide guidelines for the fabrication of very high quality AlAs 2DESs. We highlight the unprecedented quality of the fabricated AlAs samples by presenting the magnetotransport data for low-density $(\ensuremath{\simeq}1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{11}\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}2})$ AlAs 2DESs that exhibit high-order fractional quantum Hall signatures.

Electron paramagnetic resonance study of the nuclear spin dynamics in an AlAs quantum well

The nuclear spin dynamics in an asymmetrically doped 16-nm AlAs quantum well grown along the [001] direction has been studied experimentally using the time decay of the Overhauser shift of paramagnetic resonance of conduction electrons. The nonzero spin polarization of nuclei causing the initial observed Overhauser shift is due the relaxation of the nonequilibrium spin polarization of electrons into the nuclear subsystem near electron paramagnetic resonance owing to the hyperfine interaction. The measured relaxation time of nuclear spins near the unity filling factor is (530 ± 30) min at the temperature T = 0.5 K. This value exceeds the characteristic spin relaxation times of nuclei in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures by more than an order of magnitude. This fact indicates the decrease in the strength of the hyperfine interaction in the AlAs quantum well in comparison with GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures.