On the Origin of the Metal-Insulator Transition in 2D

Abstract

Two phenomena have been recently observed in high-mobility Si MOS structures: (1) strong enhancement of the metallic conduction at low temperatures, T < 2K, and (2) the scaling behavior of the temperature and electric field dependences of the resistivity. These results evidence for the true metal-insulator transition in 2d, in apparent disagreement with the one-parameter scaling theory. Here we present a model that explains both effects in the framework of the spin-orbit interaction and provides a quantitative agreement with the experimental data.