Current Distributions in Quantum Hall Effect Devices

This paper addresses the question of how current is distributed within quantum Hall effect devices. Three types of flow patterns most often mentioned in the literature are considered. They are: (1) skipping orbits along the device periphery (which arise from elastic collisions off hard-walled potentials); (2) narrow conducting channels along the device sides (which are presumed to be generated from confining potentials); and (3) currents distributed throughout the device (which are assumed to arise from a combination of confining and charge-redistribution potentials). The major conclusions are that skipping orbits do not occur in quantum Hall effect devices, and that nearly all of the externally applied current is located within the device interior rather than along the device edges.