Comparative study of microwave radiation-induced magnetoresistive oscillations induced by circularly- and linearly- polarized photo-excitation

Photo-oscillations in MgZnO/ZnO heterostructures

We theoretically examine the characteristics of microwave-induced magnetoresistance (MIRO) and photovoltage oscillations in MgZno/ZnO heterostructures. We demonstrate that both kind of oscillations, although described with different physical properties, are intimately related sharing the same physical origin. We use the radiation driven electron orbit model showing that the interplay of radiation driven swinging Landau orbits and the scattering processes are at the heart of the oscillations in both scenarios. Thus, our simulations show that all photo-oscillations present the main features of MIRO: they are periodic with the inverse of the magnetic field and the oscillations minima are 1/4 cycle shifted.

Photovoltage oscillations in encapsulated graphene

We theoretically analyze the rise of photovoltage oscillations in hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) encapsulated monolayer graphene (h-BN/graphene/h-BN) when irradiated with terahertz radiation. We use an extension of the radiation-driven electron orbit model, successfully applied to study the oscillations obtained in irradiated magnetotransport of GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures. The extension takes mainly into account that now the carriers are massive Dirac fermions. Our simulations reveal that the photovoltage in these graphene systems presents important oscillations similar to the ones of irradiated magnetoresistance in semiconductor platforms but in the terahertz range. We also obtain that these oscillations are clearly affected by the voltages applied to the sandwiched graphene: a vertical gate voltage between the two hBN layers and an external positive voltage applied to one of the sample sides. The former steers the carrier effective mass and the latter the photovoltage intensity and the oscillations amplitude. The frequency dependence of the photo-oscillations is also investigated.

Study of narrow negative magnetoresistance effect in ultra-high mobility GaAs/AlGaAs 2DES under microwave photo-excitation

The microwave-induced change in the narrow negative magnetoresistance effect that appears around zero magnetic field in high mobility GaAs/AlGaAs 2DES (≈10⁷ cm²/Vs) is experimentally examined as a function of incident microwave power at a fixed bath temperature. The experimental results indicate that the narrow negative magnetoresistance effect exhibits substantially increased broadening with increasing microwave intensity. These magnetoresistance data were subjected to lineshape fits to extract possible variation of characteristic lengths with microwave intensity; the results suggest that characteristic lengths decrease by up to 50% upon increasing microwave power up to about 8 mW. We also examine the change in effective electron temperature, T_e, due to the photo-excitation in the absence of a magnetic field. Combining these results suggests a correlation between electron heating and the observed change in the fit extracted characteristic lengths.

Microscopic model for radiation-induced magnetoresistance oscillations excited by circularly polarized radiation

We develop a microscopic model to explain the striking result of immunity to the sense of circularly polarized radiation of the photo-excited resistance oscillations in high-mobility 2D electron systems. Our model is based on the radiation-driven electron orbit model, previously developed to explain the photo-induced resistance oscillations and zero resistance states in these systems. According to it, the guiding center of the Landau states when irradiated by circularly polarized radiation performs a circular path driven by radiation. In principle, in an infinite sample, this path is different according to the the sense of circular polarization (left or right). However, the limited size of the sample with the essential role of the edges and the concurrent presence of the Hall electric field tend to quench the displacement of the driven guiding center making nearly equal both trajectories. In the end and in the presence of scattering, the longitudinal irradiated magnetoresistance turns out nearly the same irrespective of the sense of circular radiation.

Radiation-induced magnetoresistance oscillations in monolayer and bilayer graphene

We examine the characteristics of the microwave/mm-wave/terahertz radiation-induced magnetoresistance oscillations in monolayer and bilayer graphene and report that the oscillation frequency of the radiation-induced magnetoresistance oscillations in the massless, linearly dispersed monolayer graphene system should depend strongly both on the Fermi energy, and the radiation frequency, unlike in the case of the massive, parabolic, GaAs/AlGaAs 2D electron system, where the radiation-induced magnetoresistance oscillation frequency depends mainly on the radiation frequency. This possible dependence of the magnetoresistance oscillation frequency on the Fermi level at a fixed radiation frequency also suggests a sensitivity to the gate voltage in gated graphene, which suggests an in-situ tunable photo-excitation response in monolayer graphene that could be useful for sensing applications. In sharp contrast to monolayer graphene, bilayer graphene is expected to show radiation-induced magnetoresistance oscillations more similar to the results observed in the GaAs/AlGaAs 2D system. Such expectations for the radiation-induced magnetoresistance oscillations are presented here to guide future experimental studies in both of these modern atomic layer material systems.

Cyclotron resonance in the high mobility GaAs/AlGaAs 2D electron system over the microwave, mm-wave, and terahertz- bands

The reflected microwave power from the photo-excited high mobility GaAs/AlGaAs 2D device has been measured over the wide frequency band spanning from 30 to 330 GHz simultaneously along with diagonal magnetoresistance as a function of the magnetic field. Easily distinguishable resonances in the reflected power signal are observed at the same magnetic fields as a reduced amplitude in the Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations of the diagonal magnetoresistance. The reflection resonances with concurrent amplitude reduction in SdH oscillations are correlated with cyclotron resonance induced by microwave, mm-wave, and terahertz photoexcitation. The magnetoplasma effect was also investigated. The results suggest a finite frequency zero-magnetic-field intercept, providing an estimate for the plasma frequency. The experimentally measured plasma frequency appears to be somewhat lower than the estimated plasma frequency for these Hall bars. The results, in sum, are consistent with an effective mass ratio of m*/m = 0.067, the standard value, even in these high mobility GaAs/AlGaAs devices, at very large filling factors. Preliminary findings from this article have been published as conference proceedings, see Kriisa, A., et al., J. of Phys. Conf. Ser. 864, 012057 (2017).

Electron heating induced by an ac-bias current in the regime of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillation in the high mobility GaAs/Al x Ga1-x As two-dimensional electron system

The magnetotransport properties of the high mobility GaAs/AlGaAs two-dimensional electron gas systems have been examined to determine the influence of the ac current bias on the carrier temperature. The changes in the line shape of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in the longitudinal magnetoresistance ([Formula: see text]) were followed as a function of the ac current bias in the temperature range of [Formula: see text] in order to determine the carrier heating effect due to the ac bias. The lineshape analysis of these oscillations indicates that the carrier temperature of the two-dimensional electron system is linearly proportional to the ac bias current.

Coherent backscattering in quasi-ballistic ultra-high mobility GaAs/AlGaAs 2DES

A small and narrow negative-magnetoresistance (MR) effect that appears about null magnetic field over the interval −0.025 ≤ B ≤ 0.025 T in magnetotransport studies of the GaAs/AlGaAs 2D system with μ ≈ 10⁷cm²/Vs is experimentally examined as a function of the sample temperature, T. The temperature dependent magnetoresistance data were fit using the Hikami et al. theory, without including the spin-orbit correction, to extract the inelastic length, l_i, which decreases rapidly with increasing temperature. It turns out that l_i < l_e, where l_e is the elastic length, for all T. Thus, we measured the single particle lifetime, τ_s, and the single particle mean free path l_s = v_Fτ_s. A comparison between l_i and l_s indicates that l_i > l_s. The results suggest that the observed small and narrow magnetoresistance effect about null magnetic field could be a manifestation of coherent backscattering due to small angle scattering from remote ionized donors in the high mobility GaAs/AlGaAs 2DES.

B-periodic oscillations in the Hall-resistance induced by a dc-current-bias under combined microwave-excitation and dc-current bias in the GaAs/AlGaAs 2D system

We report the observation of dc-current-bias-induced B-periodic Hall resistance oscillations and Hall plateaus in the GaAs/AlGaAs 2D system under combined microwave radiation- and dc bias excitation at liquid helium temperatures. The Hall resistance oscillations and plateaus appear together with concomitant oscillations also in the diagonal magnetoresistance. The periods of Hall and diagonal resistance oscillations are nearly identical, and source power (P) dependent measurements demonstrate sub-linear relationship of the oscillation amplitude with P over the span 0 < P ≤ 20 mW.

Mutual influence between current-induced giant magnetoresistance and radiation-induced magnetoresistance oscillations in the GaAs/AlGaAs 2DES

Radiation-induced magnetoresistance oscillations are examined in the GaAs/AlGaAs 2D system in the regime where an observed concurrent giant magnetoresistance is systematically varied with a supplementary dc-current, I_dc. The I_dc tuned giant magnetoresistance is subsequently separated from the photo-excited oscillatory resistance using a multi-conduction model in order to examine the interplay between the two effects. The results show that the invoked multiconduction model describes the observed giant magnetoresistance effect even in the presence of radiation-induced magnetoresistance oscillations, the magnetoresistance oscillations do not modify the giant magnetoresistance, and the magnetoresistance oscillatory extrema, i.e., maxima and minima, disappear rather asymmetrically with increasing I_dc. The results suggest the interpretation that the I_dc serves to suppress scattering between states near the Fermi level in a strong magnetic field limit.

Tunable electron heating induced giant magnetoresistance in the high mobility GaAs/AlGaAs 2D electron system

Electron-heating induced by a tunable, supplementary dc-current (I_dc) helps to vary the observed magnetoresistance in the high mobility GaAs/AlGaAs 2D electron system. The magnetoresistance at B = 0.3 T is shown to progressively change from positive to negative with increasing I_dc, yielding negative giant-magnetoresistance at the lowest temperature and highest I_dc. A two-term Drude model successfully fits the data at all I_dc and T. The results indicate that carrier heating modifies a conductivity correction σ₁, which undergoes sign reversal from positive to negative with increasing I_dc, and this is responsible for the observed crossover from positive- to negative- magnetoresistance, respectively, at the highest B.