A two-dimensional Wigner crystal (Review Article)

The current state of theoretical and experimental studies of the Wigner crystallization of a two-dimensional electron gas is reviewed. The Wigner crystal (WC) has first been observed experimentally in a two-dimensional electron system on the surface of liquid helium in 1979. This success was favored...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Low temperature physics (Woodbury, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2012-12, Vol.38 (12), p.1067-1095
Main Authors: Monarkha, Yu. P., Syvokon, V. E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Crystallization
Crystals
Electron gas
Gallium arsenide
Gallium arsenides
Low temperature physics
Semiconductors
Two dimensional
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Summary:The current state of theoretical and experimental studies of the Wigner crystallization of a two-dimensional electron gas is reviewed. The Wigner crystal (WC) has first been observed experimentally in a two-dimensional electron system on the surface of liquid helium in 1979. This success was favored by the exceptional purity of the free surface of superfluid liquid and the ability to fairly accurately describe the polaronic deformation phenomena accompanying the crystallization of electrons. Very pure samples of heterostructures (GaAs/GaAlAs) and strong magnetic fields, making easier the localization of electrons in a conducting layer, were necessary in order to observe the Wigner crystallization in semiconductor two-dimensional electron systems This review discusses the basic properties of a two-dimensional WC, common to the both above-mentioned electronic systems, and also major advances in the study of transport properties of WC caused by response of the environment on motion of the electron lattice.
ISSN:1063-777X
1090-6517
DOI:10.1063/1.4770504