Low-frequency admittance of quantized Hall conductors

Abstract

We present a current and charge conserving theory for the low-frequency admittance of a two-dimensional electron gas connected to ideal metallic contacts and subject to a quantizing magnetic field. In the framework of the edge-channel picture, we calculate the admittance up to first order with respect to frequency. The transport coefficients in first order with respect to frequency, which are called emittances, determine the charge emitted into a contact of the sample or a gate in response to an oscillating voltage applied to a contact of the sample or a nearby gate. The emittances depend on the potential distribution inside the sample, which is established in response to the oscillation of the potential at a contact. We show that the emittances can be related to the elements of an electrochemical capacitance matrix, which describes a (fictitious) geometry in which each edge channel is coupled to its own reservoir. The particular relation of the emittance matrix to this electrochemical capacitance matrix depends strongly on the topology of the edge channels: We show that edge channels that connect different reservoirs contribute with a negative capacitance to the emittance. For example, while the emittance of a two-terminal Corbino disk is a capacitance, the emittance of a two-terminal quantum Hall bar is a negative capacitance. The geometry of the edge-channel arrangement in a many-terminal setup is reflected by symmetry properties of the emittance matrix. We investigate the effect of voltage probes and calculate the longitudinal and the Hall resistances of an ideal four-terminal Hall bar for low frequencies. © 1996 The American Physical Society.