Photoluminescence rings in a Corbino disk at quantizing magnetic fields

Abstract

Spatially resolved photoluminescence of modulation doped AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction was investigated in a sample of Corbino disk geometry subject to strong perpendicular magnetic fields. Significant spatial modulation of the photoluminescence was observed in form of one or more concentric rings which traveled across the sample when the magnetic field strength was varied. A topology of the observed structure excludes the possibility of being a trace of an external current. The effect is attributed to formation of compressible and incompressible stripes in a two-dimensional electron gas density gradient across the sample.