Characterization of a series of high-quality wide GaAs quantum wells

Due to the current interest in quantum Hall states described by the Moore-Read or Pfaffian wavefunction, we have recently begun experiments involving a series of high-quality wide GaAs quantum well in an effort to search for new Pfaffian states. Here we report the characterization of these samples. The quantum well in our series have differing well widths which range from 50 to 80 nm. The self-consistently calculated electronic band edge and electron distribution function are shown for each sample. We present the magnetoresistance up to 18 T where the quantum Hall states at nu = 1 and 3 are seen to vanish with increasing L. We also discuss the observation of a fractional quantum Hall state at nu = 1/2 in the L = 50 nm sample. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.