Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: In sufficiently clean materials where electron-electron interactions are strong compared to momentum-relaxing scattering processes, electron transport resembles the flow of a viscous fluid. We study hydrodynamic electron transport across density interfaces (n-n junctions) in a 2DEG in the Corbino geometry. From numerical simulations in comsol using realistic parameters, we show that we can produce tunable viscous layers at the density interface by varying the density ratio of charge carriers. We quantitatively explain this observation with simple analytic expressions together with boundary conditions at the interface. We also show signatures of these viscous layers in the magnetoresistance. Breaking down viscous and Ohmic contributions, we find that when the outer radial region of the Corbino has higher charge density compared to the inner region, the viscous layers at the interface serve to suppress the magnetoresistance produced by momentum-relaxing scattering. Conversely, the magnetoresistance is enhanced when the inner region has higher density than the outer. Our results add to the repertoire of techniques for engineering viscous electron flows, which hold a promise for applications in future electronic devices.
Authors: Ramal Afrose, Aydın Cem Keser, Oleg P. Sushkov, Shaffique Adam
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G2659024479, G5506664862
OpenAlex ID: W4402309692