On the two-dimensional metallic state in silicon-on-insulator structures

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the existence of a two-dimensional metallic state in silicon-on-insulator structures, showing similarities to high-mobility Si-MOS systems, and discusses models explaining this metallic behavior.

Contribution

It provides experimental evidence of metallic conduction in SOI layers and compares it with existing theories, highlighting the role of interaction corrections and screening effects.

Findings

Metallic regime observed in SOI layers similar to Si-MOS structures

Behavior well described by interaction corrections in the ballistic regime

Temperature-dependent screening explains resistivity data

Abstract

It is shown that the electronic conduction in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) layers exhibits a metallic regime which is very similar to that in high-mobility Si-metal oxide semiconductor structures (MOS). The peak in the electron mobility versus density, the strong drop in resistivity and the critical concentration for the metal-insulator transition are all consistent. On the basis of our SOI data for the temperature and in-plane magnetic field dependence of the resistivity, we discuss several models for the metallic state in two dimensions. We find that the observed behavior can be well described by the theory on the interaction corrections in the ballistic regime. For the investigated regime, the temperature dependent screening of scattering potentials gives also a good description of the data.