HOPPING TRANSPORT ALONG A POTENTIAL WALL: OSCILLATIONS OF THE MAGNETORESISTANCE IN A PARALLEL FIELD
We study the variable-range-hopping magnetoresistance of a 2D system of localized electrons in the presence of a boundary parallel to the plane of the 2D electrons. In a magnetic field B parallel to the plane, the magnetoresistance oscillates with B if the distance between the plane and the boundary is not too large. These oscillations result from the interference of the amplitude of the in-plane tunneling path with the amplitude of the path reflected by the boundary. We show that the orbital shrinkage effect, altering differently both amplitudes, strongly enhances the interference. At the same time, the amplitude of oscillations appears to be small compared to the general increase in the resistance caused by the orbital shrinkage. The most pronounced effect of the interference can be seen in the differential magnetoresistance R−1(B)∂R(B)/∂B, which we analyze numerically.