Interference of electrons in backscattering through a quantum point contact

Scanning gate microscopy is used to locally investigate electron transport in a high-mobility two-dimensional electron gas formed in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. Using quantum point contacts, we observe branches caused by electron backscattering decorated with interference fringes similar to previous observations by Topinka et al (2000 Science 289 2323). We investigate the branches at different points of a conductance plateau as well as between plateaus, and demonstrate that the most dramatic changes in branch pattern occur at the low-energy side of the conductance plateaus. The branches disappear at magnetic fields as low as 50 mT, demonstrating the importance of backscattering for the observation of the branching effect. The spacing between the interference fringes varies by more than 50% for different branches across scales of microns. Several scenarios are discussed to explain this observation. (paper)