Microwave-Induced Oscillations in Magnetocapacitance: Direct Evidence for Nonequilibrium Occupation of Electronic States.

In a two-dimensional electron system, microwave radiation may induce giant resistance oscillations. Their origin has been debated controversially and numerous mechanisms based on very different physical phenomena have been invoked. However, none of them have been unambiguously experimentally identified, since they produce similar effects in transport studies. The capacitance of a two-subband system is sensitive to a redistribution of electrons over energy states, since it entails a shift of the electron charge perpendicular to the plane. In such a system, microwave-induced magnetocapacitance oscillations have been observed. They can only be accounted for by an electron distribution function oscillating with energy due to Landau quantization, one of the quantum mechanisms proposed for the resistance oscillations.