Spin-dependent resistivity at transitions between integer quantum hall states

A review of the quantum Hall effects in MgZnO/ZnO heterostructures

This review visits recent experimental efforts on high mobility two-dimensional electron systems (2DES) hosted at the Mg _x Zn[Formula: see text]O/ZnO heterointerface. We begin with the growth of these samples, and highlight the key characteristics of ozone-assisted molecular beam epitaxy required for their production. The transport characteristics of these structures are found to rival that of traditional semiconductor material systems, as signified by the high electron mobility ([Formula: see text] cm² Vs^-1) and rich quantum Hall features. Owing to a large effective mass and small dielectric constant, interaction effects are an order of magnitude stronger in comparison with the well studied GaAs-based 2DES. The strong correlation physics results in robust Fermi-liquid renormalization of the effective mass and spin susceptibility of carriers, which in turn dictates the parameter space for the quantum Hall effect. Finally, we explore the quantum Hall effect with a particular emphasis on the spin degree of freedom of carriers, and how their large spin splitting allows control of the ground states encountered at ultra-low temperatures within the fractional quantum Hall regime. We discuss in detail the physics of even-denominator fractional quantum Hall states, whose observation and underlying character remain elusive and exotic.

Role of chiral quantum Hall edge states in nuclear spin polarization

Resistively detected NMR (RDNMR) based on dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) in a quantum Hall ferromagnet (QHF) is a highly sensitive method for the discovery of fascinating quantum Hall phases; however, the mechanism of this DNP and, in particular, the role of quantum Hall edge states in it are unclear. Here we demonstrate the important but previously unrecognized effect of chiral edge modes on the nuclear spin polarization. A side-by-side comparison of the RDNMR signals from Hall bar and Corbino disk configurations allows us to distinguish the contributions of bulk and edge states to DNP in QHF. The unidirectional current flow along chiral edge states makes the polarization robust to thermal fluctuations at high temperatures and makes it possible to observe a reciprocity principle of the RDNMR response. These findings help us better understand complex NMR responses in QHF, which has important implications for the development of RDNMR techniques.

Quantum Hall phases in two-dimensional systems have chiral edges, along which electrons propagate in one direction without backscattering. Here, the authors use nuclear magnetic resonance to demonstrate how chiral modes establish dynamical nuclear polarization in a quantum Hall ferromagnet.

Spin-Selective Electron Quantum Transport in Nonmagnetic MgZnO/ZnO Heterostructures

We report magnetotransport measurements on a high-mobility two-dimensional electron system at the nonmagnetic MgZnO/ZnO heterointerface showing distinct behavior for electrons with spin-up and spin-down orientations. The low-field Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations manifest alternating resistance peak heights which can be attributed to distinct scattering rates for different spin orientations. The tilt-field measurements at a half-integer filling factor reveal that the majority spins show usual diffusive behavior, i.e., peaks with the magnitude proportional to the index of the Landau level at the Fermi energy. By contrast, the minority spins develop "plateaus" with the magnitude of dissipative resistivity that is fairly independent of the Landau level index and is of the order of the zero-field resistivity.