Observation of Electronic Modes in Open Cavity Resonator

Abstract

The resemblance between electrons and optical waves has strongly driven the advancement of mesoscopic physics. However, electron waves have yet to be understood in open cavity structures which have provided contemporary optics with rich insight towards non-Hermitian systems and complex interactions between resonance mode. Here, we report the realization of an open cavity resonator in a two-dimensional electronic system. We studied the resonant electron modes within the cavity and resolved the signatures of longitudinal and transverse quantization, showing that the modes are robust despite the openness of the cavity being highly open to the background continuum. The transverse modes were investigated by applying a controlled deformation to the cavity, and their spatial distributions were further analyzed using magnetoconductance measurements and numerical simulation. These results lay the groundwork to exploring electronic wavefunctions in the context of modern optical systems, such as the dielectric microcavity.