Resistance oscillations of two-dimensional electrons in crossed electric and tilted magnetic fields

TL;DR

This paper investigates how a dc electric field influences resistance oscillations in high-mobility 2D electrons within GaAs quantum wells under tilted magnetic fields, revealing quantum Landau-Zener transitions and geometric resonances.

Contribution

It demonstrates the occurrence of resistance oscillations caused by electric field-induced Landau-Zener transitions and explores their inversion with magnetic field tilt, including novel phenomena at magnetic breakdown.

Findings

Resistance oscillates due to Landau-Zener transitions.

Oscillations invert with magnetic field tilt.

Strong inverted oscillations occur at near absence of density modulation.

Abstract

Effect of dc electric field on transport of highly mobile 2D electrons is studied in wide GaAs single quantum wells placed in titled magnetic fields. The study shows that in perpendicular magnetic field resistance oscillates due to electric field induced Landau-Zener transitions between quantum levels that corresponds to geometric resonances between cyclotron orbits and periodic modulation of electron density of states. Magnetic field tilt inverts these oscillations. Surprisingly the strongest inverted oscillations are observed at a tilt corresponding to nearly absent modulation of the electron density of states in regime of magnetic breakdown of semiclassical electron orbits. This phenomenon establishes an example of quantum resistance oscillations due to Landau quantization, which occur in electron systems with a constant density of states.