Weak antilocalization in HgTe quantum well with inverted energy spectrum

TL;DR

This study investigates the magnetoconductivity of HgTe quantum wells with inverted energy spectrum, revealing a crossover in weak antilocalization behavior linked to electron spectrum branches and phase relaxation dynamics.

Contribution

It provides experimental evidence of weak antilocalization crossover in HgTe quantum wells and analyzes the phase relaxation time behavior across different conductivities.

Findings

Antilocalization magnetoconductivity observed at high conductivity

Crossover from 0.5 to 1.0 ln(τφ/τ) behavior with increasing conductivity

Phase relaxation time τφ remains nearly constant across conductivities

Abstract

The results of experimental study of the magnetoconductivity of 2D electron gas caused by suppression of the interference quantum correction in HgTe single quantum well heterostructure with the inverted energy spectrum are presented. It is shown that only the antilocalization magnetoconductivity is observed at the relatively high conductivity $\sigma>(20-30)G_0$, where $G_0= e^2/2\pi^2\hbar$. The antilocalization correction demonstrates a crossover from $0.5\ln{(\tau_\phi/\tau)}$ to $1.0\ln{(\tau_\phi/\tau)}$ behavior with the increasing conductivity or decreasing temperature (here $\tau_\phi$ and $\tau$ are the phase relaxation and transport relaxation times, respectively). It is interpreted as a result of crossover to the regime when the two chiral branches of the electron energy spectrum contribute to the weak antilocalization independently. At lower conductivity $\sigma<(20-30)G_0$, the magnetoconductivity behaves itself analogously to that in usual 2D systems with the fast spin relaxation: being negative in low magnetic field it becomes positive in higher one. We have found that the temperature dependences of the fitting parameter $\tau_\phi$ corresponding to the phase relaxation time demonstrate reasonable behavior, close to 1/T, over the whole conductivity range from $5G_0$ up to $130G_0$. However, the $\tau_\phi$ value remains practically independent of the conductivity in distinction to the conventional 2D systems with the simple energy spectrum, in which $\tau_\phi$ is enhanced with the conductivity.