Abstract:
A metal-insulator transition in a two-dimensional semimetal based on HgTe quantum wells is discovered. The transition is induced by a magnetic field applied parallel to the plane of the quantum well. The threshold behavior of the activation energy as a function of the magnetic-field strength and an abrupt reduction of the Hall resistance at the onset of the transition suggest that the observed effect originates from the formation of an excitonic insulator.
Citation:
E. B. Olshanetskii, Z. D. Kvon, G. M. Gusev, N. N. Mikhailov, S. A. Dvoretskii, “Two-dimensional semimetal-insulator transition in HgTe-based quantum wells induced by a longitudinal magnetic field”, Pis'ma v Zh. Èksper. Teoret. Fiz., 96:4 (2012), 268–271; JETP Letters, 96:4 (2012), 251–254