Quantum Hall effect and zero plateau in bulk HgTe

TL;DR

This study investigates the quantum Hall effect in a 1000-nm-thick HgTe film, revealing a zero Hall resistance plateau caused by counter-propagating edge channels, with implications for understanding quantum spin Hall phenomena in 3D systems.

Contribution

It demonstrates the formation of a zero Hall resistance plateau in bulk HgTe due to edge channels, reproducing quantum spin Hall effects with macroscopic ballistic transport.

Findings

Zero Hall resistance plateau observed near charge neutrality.

Counter-propagating chiral edge channels are responsible for the zero plateau.

Anomalous scaling of the quantum Hall effect related to carrier exchange with the reservoir.

Abstract

The quantum Hall effect, which exhibits a number of unusual properties, is studied in a gated 1000-nm-thick HgTe film, nominally a three-dimensional system. A weak zero plateau of Hall resistance, accompanied by a relatively small value of Rxx of the order of h/e^2, is found around the point of charge neutrality. It is shown that the zero plateau is formed by the counter-propagating chiral electron-hole edge channels, the scattering between which is suppressed. So, phenomenologically, the quantum spin Hall effect is reproduced, but with preserved ballisticity on macroscopic scales (larger than 1mm). It is shown that the formation of the QHE occurs in a two-dimensional (2D) accumulation layer near the gate, while the bulk carriers play the role of an electron reservoir. Due to the exchange of carriers between the reservoir and the 2D layer, an anomalous scaling of the QHE is observed not with respect to the CNP, but with respect to the first electron plateau.