Quantum oscillations in an optically-illuminated two-dimensional electron system at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3interface.

We have investigated the illumination effect on the magnetotransport properties of a two-dimensional electron system at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3interface. The illumination significantly reduces the zero-field sheet resistance, eliminates the Kondo effect at low-temperature, and switches the negative magnetoresistance into the positive one. A large increase in the density of high-mobility carriers after illumination leads to quantum oscillations in the magnetoresistance originating from the Landau quantization. The carrier density (∼2 × 1012 cm-2) and effective mass (∼1.7me) estimated from the oscillations suggest that the high-mobility electrons occupy thedxz/yzsubbands of Ti:t2gorbital extending deep within the conducting sheet of SrTiO3. Our results demonstrate that the illumination which induces additional carriers at the interface can pave the way to control the Kondo-like scattering and study the quantum transport in the complex oxide heterostructures.

Composite fermion liquid to Wigner solid transition in the lowest Landau level of zinc oxide.

Interactions between the constituents of a condensed matter system can drive it through a plethora of different phases due to many-body effects. A prominent platform for it is a dilute two-dimensional electron system in a magnetic field, which evolves intricately through various gaseous, liquid and solid phases governed by Coulomb interaction. Here we report on the experimental observation of a phase transition between the composite fermion liquid and adjacent magnetic field induced phase with a character of Wigner solid. The experiments are performed in the lowest Landau level of a MgZnO/ZnO two-dimensional electron system with attributes of both a liquid and a solid. An in-plane magnetic field component applied on top of the perpendicular magnetic field extends the Wigner-like phase further into the composite fermion liquid phase region. Our observations indicate the direct competition between a composite fermion liquid and a Wigner solid formed either by electrons or composite fermions.

High-order fractal states in graphene superlattices.

Graphene superlattices were shown to exhibit high-temperature quantum oscillations due to periodic emergence of delocalized Bloch states in high magnetic fields such that unit fractions of the flux quantum pierce a superlattice unit cell. Under these conditions, semiclassical electron trajectories become straight again, similar to the case of zero magnetic field. Here, we report magnetotransport measurements that reveal second-, third-, and fourth-order magnetic Bloch states at high electron densities and temperatures above 100 K. The recurrence of these states creates a fractal pattern intimately related to the origin of Hofstadter butterflies. The hierarchy of the fractal states is determined by the width of magnetic minibands, in qualitative agreement with our band-structure calculations.

A low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope capable of microscopy and spectroscopy in a Bitter magnet at up to 34 T.

We present the design and performance of a cryogenic scanning tunneling microscope (STM) which operates inside a water-cooled Bitter magnet, which can attain a magnetic field of up to 38 T. Due to the high vibration environment generated by the magnet cooling water, a uniquely designed STM and a vibration damping system are required. The STM scan head is designed to be as compact and rigid as possible, to minimize the effect of vibrational noise as well as fit the size constraints of the Bitter magnet. The STM uses a differential screw mechanism for coarse tip-sample approach, and operates in helium exchange gas at cryogenic temperatures. The reliability and performance of the STM are demonstrated through topographic imaging and scanning tunneling spectroscopy on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite at T = 4.2 K and in magnetic fields up to 34 T.

Linear Magnetoresistance in a Quasifree Two-Dimensional Electron Gas in an Ultrahigh Mobility GaAs Quantum Well.

We report a high-field magnetotransport study of an ultrahigh mobility (µ[over ¯]≈25×10^{6} cm^{2} V^{-1} s^{-1}) n-type GaAs quantum well. We observe a strikingly large linear magnetoresistance (LMR) up to 33 T with a magnitude of order 10^{5}% onto which quantum oscillations become superimposed in the quantum Hall regime at low temperature. LMR is very often invoked as evidence for exotic quasiparticles in new materials such as the topological semimetals, though its origin remains controversial. The observation of such a LMR in the "simplest system"-with a free electronlike band structure and a nearly defect-free environment-excludes most of the possible exotic explanations for the appearance of a LMR and rather points to density fluctuations as the primary origin of the phenomenon. Both, the featureless LMR at high T and the quantum oscillations at low T follow the empirical resistance rule which states that the longitudinal conductance is directly related to the derivative of the transversal (Hall) conductance multiplied by the magnetic field and a constant factor α that remains unchanged over the entire temperature range. Only at low temperatures, small deviations from this resistance rule are observed beyond ν=1 that likely originate from a different transport mechanism for the composite fermions.

Tuning the valley and chiral quantum state of Dirac electrons in van der Waals heterostructures.

Chirality is a fundamental property of electrons with the relativistic spectrum found in graphene and topological insulators. It plays a crucial role in relativistic phenomena, such as Klein tunneling, but it is difficult to visualize directly. Here, we report the direct observation and manipulation of chirality and pseudospin polarization in the tunneling of electrons between two almost perfectly aligned graphene crystals. We use a strong in-plane magnetic field as a tool to resolve the contributions of the chiral electronic states that have a phase difference between the two components of their vector wave function. Our experiments not only shed light on chirality, but also demonstrate a technique for preparing graphene's Dirac electrons in a particular quantum chiral state in a selected valley.

Evidence for two-dimensional Ising superconductivity in gated MoS2.

The Zeeman effect, which is usually detrimental to superconductivity, can be strongly protective when an effective Zeeman field from intrinsic spin-orbit coupling locks the spins of Cooper pairs in a direction orthogonal to an external magnetic field. We performed magnetotransport experiments with ionic-gated molybdenum disulfide transistors, in which gating prepared individual superconducting states with different carrier dopings, and measured an in-plane critical field B(c2) far beyond the Pauli paramagnetic limit, consistent with Zeeman-protected superconductivity. The gating-enhanced B(c2) is more than an order of magnitude larger than it is in the bulk superconducting phases, where the effective Zeeman field is weakened by interlayer coupling. Our study provides experimental evidence of an Ising superconductor, in which spins of the pairing electrons are strongly pinned by an effective Zeeman field.

Josephson supercurrent through a topological insulator surface state.

The long-sought yet elusive Majorana fermion is predicted to arise from a combination of a superconductor and a topological insulator. An essential step in the hunt for this emergent particle is the unequivocal observation of supercurrent in a topological phase. Here, direct evidence for Josephson supercurrents in superconductor (Nb)-topological insulator (Bi(2)Te(3))-superconductor electron-beam fabricated junctions is provided by the observation of clear Shapiro steps under microwave irradiation, and a Fraunhofer-type dependence of the critical current on magnetic field. Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in magnetic fields up to 30 T reveal a topologically non-trivial two-dimensional surface state. This surface state is attributed to mediate the ballistic Josephson current despite the fact that the normal state transport is dominated by diffusive bulk conductivity. The lateral Nb-Bi(2)Te(3)-Nb junctions hence provide prospects for the realization of devices supporting Majorana fermions.

High sensitivity magnetometer for measuring the isotropic and anisotropic magnetisation of small samples.

We describe how the full, isotropic and anisotropic, magnetisation of samples as small as tens of micrometers in size can be sensitively measured using a piezoresistive microcantilever and a small, moveable ferromagnet. Depending on the position of the ferromagnet, a strong but highly local field gradient of up to ∼4200 T/m can be applied at the sample or removed completely during a single measurement. In this way, the magnetic force and torque on the sample can be independently determined without moving the sample or cycling the experimental system. The technique can be used from millikelvin temperatures to ∼85 K and in magnetic fields from 2 T to the highest fields available. We demonstrate its application in measurements of the semimagnetic semiconductor Hg(1 - x)Fe(x)Se, where we achieved a moment sensitivity of better than 2.5 × 10(-14) J/T for both isotropic and anisotropic components.

Oscillatory persistent currents in self-assembled quantum rings.

We report the direct measurement of the persistent current carried by a single electron by means of magnetization experiments on self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum rings. We measured the first Aharonov-Bohm oscillation at a field of 14 T, in perfect agreement with our model based on the structural properties determined by cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy measurements. The observed oscillation magnitude of the magnetic moment per electron is remarkably large for the topology of our nanostructures, which are singly connected and exhibit a pronounced shape asymmetry.

Magnetic effects at the interface between non-magnetic oxides.

The electronic reconstruction at the interface between two insulating oxides can give rise to a highly conductive interface. Here we show how, in analogy to this remarkable interface-induced conductivity, magnetism can be induced at the interface between the otherwise non-magnetic insulating perovskites SrTiO3 and LaAlO3. A large negative magnetoresistance of the interface is found, together with a logarithmic temperature dependence of the sheet resistance. At low temperatures, the sheet resistance reveals magnetic hysteresis. Magnetic ordering is a key issue in solid-state science and its underlying mechanisms are still the subject of intense research. In particular, the interplay between localized magnetic moments and the spin of itinerant conduction electrons in a solid gives rise to intriguing many-body effects such as Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interactions, the Kondo effect and carrier-induced ferromagnetism in diluted magnetic semiconductors. The conducting oxide interface now provides a versatile system to induce and manipulate magnetic moments in otherwise non-magnetic materials.

Room-temperature quantum Hall effect in graphene.

The quantum Hall effect (QHE), one example of a quantum phenomenon that occurs on a truly macroscopic scale, has attracted intense interest since its discovery in 1980 and has helped elucidate many important aspects of quantum physics. It has also led to the establishment of a new metrological standard, the resistance quantum. Disappointingly, however, the QHE has been observed only at liquid-helium temperatures. We show that in graphene, in a single atomic layer of carbon, the QHE can be measured reliably even at room temperature, which makes possible QHE resistance standards becoming available to a broader community, outside a few national institutions.

Quantum-Hall activation gaps in graphene.

We have measured the quantum-Hall activation gaps in graphene at filling factors nu=2 and nu=6 for magnetic fields up to 32 T and temperatures from 4 to 300 K. The nu=6 gap can be described by thermal excitation to broadened Landau levels with a width of 400 K. In contrast, the gap measured at nu=2 is strongly temperature and field dependent and approaches the expected value for sharp Landau levels for fields B>20 T and temperatures T>100 K. We explain this surprising behavior by a narrowing of the lowest Landau level.

Coulomb-interaction-induced incomplete shell filling in the hole system of InAs quantum dots.

We have studied the hole charging spectra of self-assembled InAs quantum dots in perpendicular magnetic fields by capacitance-voltage spectroscopy. From the magnetic-field dependence of the individual peaks we conclude that the s-like ground state is completely filled with two holes but that the fourfold degenerate p shell is only half filled with two holes before the filling of the d shell starts. The resulting six-hole ground state is highly polarized. This incomplete shell filling can be explained by the large influence of the Coulomb interaction in this system.

Phonon excitations of composite-fermion landau levels.

Phonon excitations of fractional quantum Hall states at filling factors nu = 1/3, 2/5, 4/7, 3/5, 4/3, and 5/3 are experimentally shown to be based on Landau-level transitions of composite fermions. At filling factor nu = 2/3, however, a linear field dependence of the excitation energy in the high-field regime rather hints towards a spin transition excited by the phonons. We propose to explain this surprising observation by an only partially polarized 2/3 ground state, making the energetically lower lying spin transition also allowed for phonon excitations.

Hopping conductivity in the quantum Hall effect: revival of universal scaling.

We have measured the temperature dependence of the conductivity sigma(xx) of a two-dimensional electron system deep into the localized regime of the quantum Hall plateau transition. Using variable-range hopping theory we extract directly the localization length xi from this experiment. We use our results to study the scaling behavior of xi as a function of the filling factor distance /deltanu/ to the critical point of the transition. We find for all samples a power-law behavior xi equivalent to /deltanu/(-gamma) in agreement with the theoretically proposed universal exponent gamma = 2.35.

Dynamical scaling of the quantum Hall plateau transition.

Using different experimental techniques, we examine the dynamical scaling of the quantum Hall plateau transition in a frequency range f=0.1-55 GHz. We present a scheme that allows for a simultaneous scaling analysis of these experiments and all other data in literature. We observe a universal scaling function with an exponent kappa=0.5+/-0.1, yielding a dynamical exponent z=0.9+/-0.2.

High frequency conductivity in the quantum hall regime.

We have measured the complex conductivity sigma(xx) of a two-dimensional electron system in the quantum Hall regime up to frequencies of 6 GHz at electron temperatures below 100 mK. Using both its imaginary and real part we show that sigma(xx) can be scaled to a single function for different frequencies and several transitions between plateaus in the quantum Hall effect. Additionally, the conductivity in the variable-range hopping regime is used for a direct evaluation of the localization length xi. Even for large filling factor distances deltanu from the critical point we find xi approximately equals deltanu(-gamma) with a scaling exponent gamma = 2.3.

Magnetoresistance anisotropy in Si /SiGe in tilted magnetic fields: experimental evidence for a stripe-phase formation.

We observe pronounced transport anisotropies in magnetotransport experiments performed in the two-dimensional electron system of a Si/SiGe heterostructure. They occur when an in-plane field is used to tune two Landau levels with opposite spin to energetic coincidence. The observed anisotropies disappear drastically for temperatures above 1 K. We propose that our experimental findings may be caused by the formation of a unidirectional stripe phase oriented perpendicular to the in-plane field.