Conductivity of Silicon Inversion Layers: comparison with and without in-plane magnetic field

TL;DR

This study compares the temperature-dependent conductivity of dilute silicon inversion layers with and without an in-plane magnetic field, revealing that the magnetic field significantly suppresses metallic behavior across a broad electron density range.

Contribution

It provides a detailed, quantitative analysis of how an in-plane magnetic field affects the conductivity and metallic behavior in two-dimensional silicon inversion layers, offering new constraints for theoretical models.

Findings

Magnetic field reduces the slope of conductivity versus temperature curves.

Strong suppression of metallic behavior by the magnetic field.

Conductivity remains on the order of 10 e^2/h at high fields.

Abstract

A detailed comparison is presented of the temperature dependence of the conductivity of dilute, strongly interacting electrons in two-dimensional silicon inversion layers in the metallic regime in the presence and in the absence of a magnetic field. We show explicitly and quantitatively that a magnetic field applied parallel to the plane of the electrons reduces the slope of the conductivity versus temperature curves to near zero over a broad range of electron densities extending from $n_c$ to deep in the metallic regime where the high field conductivity is on the order of $10 e^2/h$. The strong suppression (or "quenching") of the metallic behavior by a magnetic field sets an important constraint on theory.