Spin-Incoherent Transport in Quantum Wires

Hew, W. K.; Thomas, K. J.; Pepper, M.; Farrer, I.; Anderson, D.; Jones, G. A. C.; Ritchie, D. A.

Spin-Incoherent Transport in Quantum Wires

Authors

Description

When a quantum wire is weakly confined, a conductance plateau appears at e^2/h with decreasing carrier density in zero magnetic field accompanied by a gradual suppression of the 2e^2/h plateau. Applying an in-plane magnetic field B|| does not alter the value of this quantization; however, the e^2/h plateau weakens with increasing B|| up to 9 T, and then strengthens on further increasing B||, which also restores the 2e^2/h plateau. Our results are consistent with spin-incoherent transport in a one-dimensional wire.
4 pages, 6 figures