Ultra-high-quality two-dimensional electron systems

Yoon Jang Chung, K. A. Villegas Rosales, K. W. Baldwin, P. T. Madathil, K. W. West, M. Shayegan, L. N. Pfeiffer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

103 Scopus citations

Abstract

Two-dimensional electrons confined to GaAs quantum wells are hallmark platforms for probing electron–electron interactions. Many key observations have been made in these systems as sample quality has improved over the years. Here, we present a breakthrough in sample quality via source-material purification and innovation in GaAs molecular beam epitaxy vacuum chamber design. Our samples display an ultra-high mobility of 44 × 106 cm2 V–1 s–1 at an electron density of 2.0 × 1011 cm–2. These results imply only 1 residual impurity for every 1010 Ga/As atoms. The impact of such low impurity concentration is manifold. Robust stripe and bubble phases are observed, and several new fractional quantum Hall states emerge. Furthermore, the activation gap (Δ) of the fractional quantum Hall state at the Landau-level filling (ν) = 5/2, which is widely believed to be non-Abelian and of potential use for topological quantum computing, reaches Δ ≈ 820 mK. We expect that our results will stimulate further research on interaction-driven physics in a two-dimensional setting and substantially advance the field.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)632-637
Number of pages6
JournalNature Materials
Volume20
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2021
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Chemistry
  • General Materials Science
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering

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