Abstract
We present transport measurements of electrons on the surface of liquid helium in a microchannel device in which a constriction may be formed by a split-gate electrode. The surface electron current passing through the microchannel first decreases and is then completely suppressed as the split-gate voltage is swept negative. The current decreases in a steplike manner, due to changes in the number of electrons able to pass simultaneously through the constriction. We investigate the dependence of the electron transport on the AC driving voltage and the DC potentials applied to the sample electrodes, in order to understand the electrostatic potential profile of the constriction region. Our results are in good agreement with a finite element modeling analysis of the device. We demonstrate that the threshold of current flow depends not only on the applied potentials but also on the surface electron density. The detailed understanding of the characteristics of such a device is an important step in the development of mesoscopic experiments with surface electrons on liquid helium.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
E. Andrei (ed.), Two-Dimensional Electron Systems on Helium and other Cryogenic substrates (Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, 1997)
Y.P. Monarkha, K. Kono, Two-Dimensional Coulomb Liquids and Solids (Springer, Berlin, 2004)
C.C. Grimes et al., Phys. Rev. B 13(1), 140 (1976)
P.M. Platzman, M.I. Dykman, Science 284, 1967 (1999)
L. Gor’kov, D. Chernikova, JETP Lett. 18(2), 68 (1973)
P. Leiderer, M. Wanner, Phys. Lett. A 73(3), 189 (1979)
M. Wanner, P. Leiderer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 42(5), 315 (1979)
K. Shirahama, S. Ito, H. Suto, K. Kono, J. Low Temp. Phys. 101, 439 (1995)
C.C. Grimes, G. Adams, Phys. Rev. Lett. 42(12), 795 (1979)
Y.Z. Kovdrya, Low Temp. Phys. 29, 77–104 (2003)
Y.Z. Kovdrya, V.A. Nikolaenko, Sov. J. Low Temp. Phys. 18(894) (1992)
Y.Z. Kovdrya et al., J. Low Temp. Phys. 110(1), 191 (1998)
S.S. Sokolov, G.Q. Hai, N. Studart, Phys. Rev. B 51(9), 5977 (1995)
D. Marty, J. Phys. C, Solid State Phys. 19(30), 6097 (1986)
R. van Haren et al., Physica B, Condens. Matter 249–251, 656 (1998)
P. Glasson et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 87(17), 176802 (2001)
H. Ikegami, H. Akimoto, K. Kono, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102(4), 046807 (2009)
G. Sabouret et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 92(8), 082104 (2008)
G. Papageorgiou et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 86, 153106 (2005)
J. Klier, I. Doicescu, P. Leiderer, J. Low Temp. Phys. 121(5–6), 603 (2000)
A.V. Chaplik, Pis’ma Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz. 31, 275 (1980)
G. Piacente, I.V. Schweigert, J.J. Betouras, F.M. Peeters, Phys. Rev. B 69(4) (2004)
V.M. Bedanov, F.M. Peeters, Phys. Rev. B 49(4), 2667 (1994)
G. Piacente, F.M. Peeters, Phys. Rev. B 72(20), 205208 (2005)
C.J. da Silva, J.P. Rino, L. Cândido, Phys. Rev. B 77(16), 165407 (2008)
P. Damasceno, C. DaSilva, J. Rino, L. Cândido, J. Low Temp. Phys. 160, 58 (2010)
N.M. Zimmerman, J.L. Cobb, A.F. Clark, Phys. Rev. B 56(12), 7675 (1997)
D.G. Rees et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 93(17), 173508 (2008)
E. Rousseau et al., Phys. Rev. B 79(4), 045406 (2009)
D.G. Rees et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 106(2), 026803 (2011)
Y. Iye, J. Low Temp. Phys. 40(5–6), 441 (1980)
PDE Solutions Inc., The FEM modeling was performed using FlexPDE software (2011)
J. Angrik, A. Faustein, J. Klier, P. Leiderer, J. Low Temp. Phys. 137, 335 (2004)
D.G. Rees, K. Kono, J. Low Temp. Phys. 158(1–2), 301 (2010)
S.P. Hoogendoorn, W. Daamen, Transp. Sci. 39(2), 147 (2005)
B.J. van Wees et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 60(9), 848 (1988)
M. Araki, H. Hayakawa, ArXiv e-prints (arXiv:1104.4854) (2011)
M. Saitoh, T. Aoki, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 44(1), 71 (1978)
F. Bridges, J.F. McGill, Phys. Rev. B 15(3), 1324 (1977)
Y.P. Monarkha, V.B. Shikin, Sov. Phys. JETP 41, 710 (1975)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rees, D.G., Kuroda, I., Marrache-Kikuchi, C.A. et al. Transport Measurements of Strongly Correlated Electrons on Helium in a Classical Point-Contact Device. J Low Temp Phys 166, 107–124 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-011-0416-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-011-0416-3