RUI: Correlated Electrons in Multilayer Semiconductors

9972332

Hanna

This is a grant in the Research at Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) program. The proposal has two main goals: (1) carry out basic research on the novel properties of correlated electrons in multilayer semiconductors, and, (2) enhance undergraduate science education at Boise State University. The latter will be done by providing undergraduates with research opportunities in physics and by strengthening the overall research environment.

The proposed research focuses on the effects of electron interactions in multilayer semiconducting devices. Continual advancements in the ability to engineer the growth of semiconductor devices on the atomic scale have resulted in high-quality multilayer semiconductor structures whose carrier densities and layer separations are so small that interlayer correlations between electrons have important and measurable consequences. This is especially true in the quantum Hall (QH) regime, where the application of a strong perpendicular magnetic field to two-dimensional electron (or hole) gases quenches the kinetic energy of the particles and greatly enhances the interactions.

Thos research will contribute to the understanding of the nature and experimental signatures of interlayer correlations in multilayer QH systems. Previous work by the PI was the first to investigate the effects of interlayer exchange in realistically modeled triple-layer systems. The calculations proposed here include: the effects of in-plane magnetic fields on double-and triple-layer QH systems; the effects of interlayer coherence in semiconductor superlattices; and, the effect of the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in QH bilayers on resistivity and Coulomb drag.

This is a grant in the Research at Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) program. The proposal has two main goals: (1) carry out basic research on the novel properties of correlated electrons in multilayer semiconductors, and, (2) enhance undergraduate science education at Boise State University. The latter will be done by providing undergraduates with research opportunities in physics and by strengthening the overall research environment.