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Van der Waals Theory of the Phase Transition in Quasi‐Two‐Dimensional Electron Gas in Magnetic Semiconductors
Author(s) -
Baru V. G.,
Grekov E. V.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
physica status solidi (b)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1521-3951
pISSN - 0370-1972
DOI - 10.1002/pssb.2221050143
Subject(s) - van der waals force , condensed matter physics , semiconductor , electron , fermi gas , phase transition , phase diagram , van der waals equation , van der waals radius , chemistry , physics , phase (matter) , quantum mechanics , molecule
A “liquid—gas” phase transition is investigated in a quasi‐two‐dimensional (quasi‐2D) electron gas in magnetic semiconductors. The quasi‐2D gas is produced by an external electric field in a metal—insulator—semiconductor system. The transition is due to s—f exchange interaction, which gives rise to a strong electron—electron attraction and, under certain conditions, makes the electron gas compression at the surface energetically favorable. The quantitative consideration is based on the analysis of the free energy functional obtained in the effective field approximation. Van der Waals isotherms and the phase diagram of the transition are plotted. The dimensions of electron liquid drops occuring for a given number of quasi‐2D electrons are estimated. Experiments for the detection of the phase transition are suggested.