2000/02/16 by H. Predel, H. Buhmann, L. W. Molenkamp +4 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Quantum and electron transport phenomena #Semiconductor Quantum Structures and Devices #Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemical Studies #cond-mat.mes-hall
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.62.2057
9 pages, 7 figures
arxiv created 2000/02/16 · openalex publication_date 2000/07/15 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We have studied experimentally and theoretically the influence of electron-electron collisions on the propagation of electron beams in a two-dimensional electron gas for excess injection energies ranging from zero up to the Fermi energy. We find that the detector signal consists of quasiballistic electrons, which either have not undergone any electron-electron collisions or have only been scattered at small angles. Theoretically, the small-angle scattering exhibits distinct features that can be traced back to the reduced dimensionality of the electron system. A number of nonlinear effects, also related to the two-dimensional character of the system, are discussed. In the simplest situation, the heating of the electron gas by the high-energy part of the beam leads to a weakening of the signal of quasiballistic electrons and to the appearance of thermovoltage. This results in a nonmonotonic dependence of the detector signal on the intensity of the injected beam, as observed experimentally.