Spatial Distribution of the Incompressible Strips at Aharonov-Bohm Interferometer

TL;DR

This paper investigates the spatial distribution of incompressible strips in an Aharonov-Bohm interferometer on a 2D electron gas under strong magnetic fields, using numerical solutions to the Poisson equation to understand edge physics and interference effects.

Contribution

It provides a detailed numerical analysis of the potential profiles and incompressible strip distributions in ABI geometries, highlighting the effects of etching and gating.

Findings

Etching produces steeper potential landscapes.

Incompressible strip distribution varies with gate voltage and magnetic field.

Interference arises from scattering between edge states.

Abstract

In this work, the edge physics of an Aharonov-Bohm interferometer (ABI) defined on a two dimensional electron gas, subject to strong perpendicular magnetic field B, is investigated. We solve the three dimensional Poisson equation using numerical techniques starting from the crystal growth parameters and surface image of the sample. The potential profiles of etched and gate defined geometries are compared and it is found that the etching yields a steeper landscape. The spatial distribution of the incompressible strips is investigated as a function of the gate voltage and applied magnetic field, where the imposed current is confined to. AB interference is investigated due to scattering processes between two incompressible "edge-states".