Low-Temperature Collapse of Electron Localisation in Two Dimensions

Abstract

We report direct experimental evidence that the insulating phase of a disordered, yet strongly interacting two-dimensional electron system (2DES) becomes unstable at low temperatures. As the temperature decreases, a transition from insulating to metal-like transport behaviour is observed, which persists even when the resistivity of the system greatly exceeds the quantum of resistivity h/e^2. The results have been achieved by measuring transport on a mesoscopic length-scale while systematically varying the strength of disorder.