Experimental results on the high-field thermopower of a two-dimensional electron gas in a GaAs-Ga1xAlxAs heterojunction

Abstract
We report experimental results on the thermopower Sxx and Nernst-Ettingshausen coefficient Syx for a GaAs-Ga1x AlxAs heterojunction both at zero field and at high magnetic fields. Although the high-field data are qualitatively in agreement with the theoretical models based on diffusion effects, the experimental magnitudes are much larger than those predicted, with the discrepancy in the high-field limit (ν=(1/2)) being about two orders of magnitude. It seems probable that phonon drag is responsible, but detailed predictions are not yet available. Although Sxx resolves spin splitting with a clarity similar to that seen in ρxx, the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) is not visible in Sxx at ν=(1/3) even though it is clearly seen in ρxx. The FQHE is observed in Syx but we argue that this is not as significant as its absence in Sxx.