The influence of the long-lived quantum Hall potential on the characteristics of quantum devices

Novel hysteretic effects are reported in magneto-transport experiments on lateral quantum devices. The effects are characterized by two vastly different relaxation times (minutes and days). It is shown that the observed phenomena are related to long-lived eddy currents. This is confirmed by torsion-balance magnetometry measurements of the same 2-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) material. These observations show that the induced quantum Hall potential at the edges of the 2DEG reservoirs influences transport through the devices, and have important consequences for the magneto-transport of all lateral quantum devices.