Abstract
We have observed a transverse voltage on passing a current through a narrow channel, electrostatically defined in a two-dimensional electron gas, at zero magnetic field. The channel is fitted with two opposite quantum point contact voltage probes, and the voltage occurs when these probes are differently adjusted, so that the transmission probabilities through the probes have a different energy dependence. The transverse voltage occurs only in the nonlinear response regime, and is even in the applied current; the driving force of the effect is the current-heating of the electrons in the channel. We observe strong oscillations in the transverse voltage as the number of occupied subbands in one of the voltage probes is varied by means of electrostatic or magnetic depopulation. Model calculations show that this novel effect is a manifestation of the oscillatory thermopower of a quantum point contact predicted by Streda. The effect can thus be used to obtain information on electron heating.
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© 1991 Plenum Press, New York
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Molenkamp, L.W., van Houten, H., Beenakker, C.W.J., Eppenga, R., Foxon, C.T. (1991). Oscillating Transverse Voltage in a Channel with Quantum Point Contact Voltage Probes. In: Beeby, J.L., Bhattacharya, P.K., Gravelle, P.C., Koch, F., Lockwood, D.J. (eds) Condensed Systems of Low Dimensionality. NATO ASI Series, vol 253. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-1348-9_26
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