Bloch-Grüneisen nonlinearity of electron transport in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures

O. E. Raichev, A. T. Hatke, M. A. Zudov, J. L. Reno

Published 2017-08-31Version 1

We report on nonlinear transport measurements in a two-dimensional electron gas hosted in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures. Upon application of direct current, the low-temperature differential resistivity acquires a positive correction, which exhibits a pronounced maximum followed by a plateau. With increasing temperature, the nonlinearity diminishes and disappears. These observations can be understood in terms of a crossover from the Bloch-Gr\"uneisen regime to the quasielastic scattering regime as the electrons are heated by direct current. Calculations considering the interaction of electrons with acoustic phonons provide a reasonable description of our experimental findings.