Radiation-Induced Magnetoresistance Oscillations in a 2D Electron Gas

Abstract

Recent measurements of a 2D electron gas subjected to microwave radiation reveal a magnetoresistance with an oscillatory dependence on the ratio of radiation frequency to cyclotron frequency. We perform a diagrammatic calculation and find radiation-induced resistivity oscillations with the correct period and phase. Results are explained via a simple picture of current induced by photoexcited disorder-scattered electrons. The oscillations increase with radiation intensity, easily exceeding the dark resistivity and resulting in negative-resistivity minima. At high intensity, we identify additional features, likely due to multiphoton processes, which have yet to be observed experimentally.