Quantum Hall effect

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The quantum Hall effect (or integer quantum Hall effect) is a quantum-mechanical version of the
Hall effect, observed in two-dimensional electron systems subjected to low temperatures and strong
magnetic fields, in which the Hall conductance σ undergoes quantum Hall transitions to take on the
quantized values

{\displaystyle \sigma ={\frac {I_{\text{channel}}}{V_{\text{Hall}}}}=\nu {\frac {e^{2}}{h}},}{\

displaystyle \sigma ={\frac {I_{\text{channel}}}{V_{\text{Hall}}}}=\nu {\frac {e^{2}}{h}},}
where Ichannel is the channel current, VHall is the Hall voltage, e is the elementary charge and h is
Planck's constant. The prefactor ν is known as the filling factor, and can take on either integer (ν =
1, 2, 3,...) or fractional (ν =
1
/
3
,
2
/
5
,
3
/
7
,
2
/
3
,
3
/
5
,
1
/
5
,
2
/
9
,
3
/
13
,
5
/
2
,
12
/
5
,...) values. The quantum Hall effect is referred to as the integer or fractional quantum Hall effect
depending on whether ν is an integer or fraction, respectively.

The striking feature of the integer quantum Hall effect is the persistence of the quantization (i.e. the
Hall plateau) as the electron density is varied. Since the electron density remains constant when the
Fermi level is in a clean spectral gap, this situation corresponds to one where the Fermi level is an
energy with a finite density of states, though these states are localized (see Anderson localization).

The fractional quantum Hall effect is more complicated, as its existence relies fundamentally on
electron–electron interactions. The fractional quantum Hall effect is also understood as an integer
quantum Hall effect, although not of electrons but of charge-flux composites known as composite
fermions. In 1988, it was proposed that there was quantum Hall effect without Landau levels.[1]
This quantum Hall effect is referred to as the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect. There is also a
new concept of the quantum spin Hall effect which is an analogue of the quantum Hall effect, where
spin currents flow instead of charge currents.[2]

Contents
1 Applications
2 History
3 Integer quantum Hall effect – Landau levels
4 Mathematics
5 The Bohr atom interpretation of the von Klitzing constant
6 Relativistic analogs
7 See also
8 References
9 Further reading
Applications
The quantization of the Hall conductance has the important property of being exceedingly precise.
Actual measurements of the Hall conductance have been found to be integer or fractional multiples
of
e2
/
h
to nearly one part in a billion. This phenomenon, referred to as exact quantization, has been shown
to be a subtle manifestation of the principle of gauge invariance.[3] It has allowed for the definition
of a new practical standard for electrical resistance, based on the resistance quantum given by the
von Klitzing constant RK. This is named after Klaus von Klitzing, the discoverer of exact
quantization. The quantum Hall effect also provides an extremely precise independent
determination of the fine-structure constant, a quantity of fundamental importance in quantum
electrodynamics.

In 1990, a fixed conventional value RK-90 = 25812.807 Ω was defined for use in resistance
calibrations worldwide.[4] On 16 November 2018, the 26th meeting of the General Conference on
Weights and Measures decided to fix exact values of h (the Planck constant) and e (the elementary
charge),[5] superseding the 1990 value with an exact permanent value RK =
h
/
e2
= 25812.80745... Ω.[6]
History
The MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor), invented by Mohamed Atalla and
Dawon Kahng at Bell Labs in 1959,[7] enabled physicists to study electron behavior in a nearly
ideal two-dimensional gas.[8] In a MOSFET, conduction electrons travel in a thin surface layer, and
a "gate" voltage controls the number of charge carriers in this layer. This allows researchers to
explore quantum effects by operating high-purity MOSFETs at liquid helium temperatures.[8]

The integer quantization of the Hall conductance was originally predicted by University of Tokyo
researchers Tsuneya Ando, Yukio Matsumoto and Yasutada Uemura in 1975, on the basis of an
approximate calculation which they themselves did not believe to be true.[9] In 1978, the
Gakushuin University researchers Jun-ichi Wakabayashi and Shinji Kawaji subsequently observed
the effect in experiments carried out on the inversion layer of MOSFETs.[10]

In 1980, Klaus von Klitzing, working at the high magnetic field laboratory in Grenoble with silicon-
based MOSFET samples developed by Michael Pepper and Gerhard Dorda, made the unexpected
discovery that the Hall conductivity was exactly quantized.[11][8] For this finding, von Klitzing
was awarded the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physics. The link between exact quantization and gauge
invariance was subsequently found by Robert Laughlin, who connected the quantized conductivity
to the quantized charge transport in Thouless charge pump.[3][12] Most integer quantum Hall
experiments are now performed on gallium arsenide heterostructures, although many other
semiconductor materials can be used. In 2007, the integer quantum Hall effect was reported in
graphene at temperatures as high as room temperature,[13] and in the magnesium zinc oxide ZnO–
MgxZn1−xO.[14]

Integer quantum Hall effect – Landau levels

File:QuantumHallEffectExplanationWithLandauLevels.ogv
In two dimensions, when classical electrons are subjected to a magnetic field they follow circular
cyclotron orbits. When the system is treated quantum mechanically, these orbits are quantized. The
energy levels of these quantized orbitals take on discrete values:

{\displaystyle E_{n}=\hbar \omega _{\text{c}}\left(n+{\tfrac {1}{2}}\right),}{\displaystyle

E_{n}=\hbar \omega _{\text{c}}\left(n+{\tfrac {1}{2}}\right),}
where ωc =
eB
/
m
is the cyclotron frequency. These orbitals are known as Landau levels, and at weak magnetic fields,
their existence gives rise to many "quantum oscillations" such as the Shubnikov–de Haas
oscillations and the de Haas–van Alphen effect (which is often used to map the Fermi surface of
metals). For strong magnetic fields, each Landau level is highly degenerate (i.e. there are many
single particle states which have the same energy En). Specifically, for a sample of area A, in
magnetic field B, the degeneracy of each Landau level is

{\displaystyle N=g_{\text{s}}{\frac {BA}{\phi _{0}}},}{\displaystyle N=g_{\text{s}}{\frac {BA}

{\phi _{0}}},}
where gs represents a factor of 2 for spin degeneracy, and ϕ0 ≈ 2×10−15 Wb is the magnetic flux
quantum. For sufficiently strong magnetic fields, each Landau level may have so many states that
all of the free electrons in the system sit in only a few Landau levels; it is in this regime where one
observes the quantum Hall effect.

Mathematics
Hofstadter's butterfly
The integers that appear in the Hall effect are examples of topological quantum numbers. They are
known in mathematics as the first Chern numbers and are closely related to Berry's phase. A striking
model of much interest in this context is the Azbel–Harper–Hofstadter model whose quantum phase
diagram is the Hofstadter butterfly shown in the figure. The vertical axis is the strength of the
magnetic field and the horizontal axis is the chemical potential, which fixes the electron density.
The colors represent the integer Hall conductances. Warm colors represent positive integers and
cold colors negative integers. Note, however, that the density of states in these regions of quantized
Hall conductance is zero; hence, they cannot produce the plateaus observed in the experiments. The
phase diagram is fractal and has structure on all scales. In the figure there is an obvious self-
similarity. In the presence of disorder, which is the source of the plateaus seen in the experiments,
this diagram is very different and the fractal structure is mostly washed away.

Concerning physical mechanisms, impurities and/or particular states (e.g., edge currents) are
important for both the 'integer' and 'fractional' effects. In addition, Coulomb interaction is also
essential in the fractional quantum Hall effect. The observed strong similarity between integer and
fractional quantum Hall effects is explained by the tendency of electrons to form bound states with
an even number of magnetic flux quanta, called composite fermions.

The Bohr atom interpretation of the von Klitzing constant

The value of the von Klitzing constant may be obtained already on the level of a single atom within
the Bohr model while looking at it as a single-electron Hall effect. While during the cyclotron
motion on a circular orbit the centrifugal force is balanced by the Lorentz force responsible for the
transverse induced voltage and the Hall effect one may look at the Coulomb potential difference in
the Bohr atom as the induced single atom Hall voltage and the periodic electron motion on a circle a
Hall current. Defining the single atom Hall current as a rate a single electron charge {\displaystyle
e}e is making Kepler revolutions with angular frequency {\displaystyle \omega }\omega

{\displaystyle I={\frac {\omega e}{2\pi }},}{\displaystyle I={\frac {\omega e}{2\pi }},}

and the induced Hall voltage as a difference between the hydrogen nucleus Coulomb potential at the
electron orbital point and at infinity:

{\displaystyle U=V_{\text{C}}(\infty )-V_{\text{C}}(r)=0-V_{\text{C}}(r)={\frac {e}{4\pi \

epsilon _{0}r}}}{\displaystyle U=V_{\text{C}}(\infty )-V_{\text{C}}(r)=0-V_{\text{C}}(r)={\
frac {e}{4\pi \epsilon _{0}r}}}
One obtains the quantization of the defined Bohr orbit Hall resistance in steps of the von Klitzing
constant as

{\displaystyle R_{\text{Bohr}}(n)={\frac {U}{I}}=n{\frac {h}{e^{2}}}}{\displaystyle R_{\

text{Bohr}}(n)={\frac {U}{I}}=n{\frac {h}{e^{2}}}}
which for the Bohr atom is linear but not inverse in the integer n.

Relativistic analogs
Relativistic examples of the integer quantum Hall effect and quantum spin Hall effect arise in the
context of lattice gauge theory.[15][16]

See also
Quantum Hall transitions
Fractional quantum Hall effect
Quantum anomalous Hall effect
Quantum cellular automata
Composite fermions
Hall effect
Hall probe
Graphene
Quantum spin Hall effect
Coulomb potential between two current loops embedded in a magnetic field
References
F. D. M. Haldane (1988). "Model for a Quantum Hall Effect without Landau Levels: Condensed-
Matter Realization of the 'Parity Anomaly'". Physical Review Letters. 61 (18): 2015–2018.
Bibcode:1988PhRvL..61.2015H. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.61.2015. PMID 10038961.
Ezawa, Zyun F. (2013). Quantum Hall Effects: Recent Theoretical and Experimental Developments
(3rd ed.). World Scientific. ISBN 978-981-4360-75-3.
R. B. Laughlin (1981). "Quantized Hall conductivity in two dimensions". Phys. Rev. B. 23 (10):
5632–5633. Bibcode:1981PhRvB..23.5632L. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.23.5632.
"2018 CODATA Value: conventional value of von Klitzing constant". The NIST Reference on
Constants, Units, and Uncertainty. NIST. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
"26th CGPM Resolutions" (PDF). BIPM.
"2018 CODATA Value: von Klitzing constant". The NIST Reference on Constants, Units, and
Uncertainty. NIST. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
"1960 - Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) Transistor Demonstrated". The Silicon Engine.
Computer History Museum.
Lindley, David (15 May 2015). "Focus: Landmarks—Accidental Discovery Leads to Calibration
Standard". Physics. 8.
Tsuneya Ando; Yukio Matsumoto; Yasutada Uemura (1975). "Theory of Hall effect in a two-
dimensional electron system". J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 39 (2): 279–288. Bibcode:1975JPSJ...39..279A.
doi:10.1143/JPSJ.39.279.
Jun-ichi Wakabayashi; Shinji Kawaji (1978). "Hall effect in silicon MOS inversion layers under
strong magnetic fields". J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 44 (6): 1839. Bibcode:1978JPSJ...44.1839W.
doi:10.1143/JPSJ.44.1839.
K. v. Klitzing; G. Dorda; M. Pepper (1980). "New method for high-accuracy determination of the
fine-structure constant based on quantized Hall resistance". Phys. Rev. Lett. 45 (6): 494–497.
Bibcode:1980PhRvL..45..494K. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.45.494.
D. J. Thouless (1983). "Quantization of particle transport". Phys. Rev. B. 27 (10): 6083–6087.
Bibcode:1983PhRvB..27.6083T. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.27.6083.
K. S. Novoselov; Z. Jiang; Y. Zhang; S. V. Morozov; H. L. Stormer; U. Zeitler; J. C. Maan; G. S.
Boebinger; P. Kim; A. K. Geim (2007). "Room-temperature quantum Hall effect in graphene".
Science. 315 (5817): 1379. arXiv:cond-mat/0702408. Bibcode:2007Sci...315.1379N.
doi:10.1126/science.1137201. PMID 17303717.
Tsukazaki, A.; Ohtomo, A.; Kita, T.; Ohno, Y.; Ohno, H.; Kawasaki, M. (2007). "Quantum Hall
effect in polar oxide heterostructures". Science. 315 (5817): 1388–91.
Bibcode:2007Sci...315.1388T. doi:10.1126/science.1137430. PMID 17255474.
D. B. Kaplan (1992). "A Method for simulating chiral fermions on the lattice". Physics Letters.
B288: 342–347. arXiv:hep-lat/9206013. doi:10.1016/0370-2693(92)91112-M.
M. F. L. Golterman; K. Jansen; D. B. Kaplan (1993). "Chern-Simons currents and chiral fermions
on the lattice". Physics Letters. B301: 219–223. arXiv:hep-lat/9209003. doi:10.1016/0370-
2693(93)90692-B.
Further reading
D. R. Yennie (1987). "Integral quantum Hall effect for nonspecialists". Rev. Mod. Phys. 59 (3):
781–824. Bibcode:1987RvMP...59..781Y. doi:10.1103/RevModPhys.59.781.
D. Hsieh; D. Qian; L. Wray; Y. Xia; Y. S. Hor; R. J. Cava; M. Z. Hasan (2008). "A topological Dirac
insulator in a quantum spin Hall phase". Nature. 452 (7190): 970–974. arXiv:0902.1356.
Bibcode:2008Natur.452..970H. doi:10.1038/nature06843. PMID 18432240.
25 years of Quantum Hall Effect, K. von Klitzing, Poincaré Seminar (Paris-2004). Postscript. Pdf.
Magnet Lab Press Release Quantum Hall Effect Observed at Room Temperature
Avron, Joseph E.; Osadchy, Daniel; Seiler, Ruedi (2003). "A Topological Look at the Quantum Hall
Effect". Physics Today. 56 (8): 38. Bibcode:2003PhT....56h..38A. doi:10.1063/1.1611351.
Zyun F. Ezawa: Quantum Hall Effects - Field Theoretical Approach and Related Topics. World
Scientific, Singapore 2008, ISBN 978-981-270-032-2
Sankar D. Sarma, Aron Pinczuk: Perspectives in Quantum Hall Effects. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim
2004, ISBN 978-0-471-11216-7
A. Baumgartner; T. Ihn; K. Ensslin; K. Maranowski; A. Gossard (2007). "Quantum Hall effect
transition in scanning gate experiments". Phys. Rev. B. 76 (8): 085316.
Bibcode:2007PhRvB..76h5316B. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.76.085316.
E. I. Rashba and V. B. Timofeev, Quantum Hall Effect, Sov. Phys. - Semiconductors v. 20, pp. 617–
647 (1986).
Categories: Hall effectCondensed matter physicsQuantum electronicsSpintronicsQuantum
phasesMesoscopic physics1980 in scienceMOSFETs
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