Zero differential resistance of a two-dimensional electron gas in a one-dimensional periodic potential at high filling factors

Abstract

The nonlinear magnetotransport of a two-dimensional (2D) electron gas in one-dimensional lateral superlattices based on a selectively doped GaAs/AlAs heterostructure is studied. The one-dimensional potential modulation of the 2D electron gas is performed by means of a series of metallic strips formed on the surface of a heterostructure with the use of electron beam lithography and a lift-off process. The dependence of the differential resistance r_xx on the magnetic field B < 1.5T in superlattices with the period a = 400 nm at a temperature of T = 4.2 K is investigated. It is found that electronic states with r_xx ≈ 0 appear in one-dimensional lateral superlattices in crossed electric and magnetic fields. It is shown that states with r_xx ≈ 0 in 2D electronic systems with one-dimensional periodic modulation arise at the minima of commensurability oscillations of the magnetoresistance.