Transport signatures for correlated disorder in self-assembled InAs quantum dots on GaAs

We report electronic transport measurements on two-dimensional electron gases in a Ga[Al]As heterostructure with an embedded layer of InAs self-assembled quantum dots. At high InAs dot densities, Altshuler–Aronov–Spivak oscillations are observed. The presence of these oscillations correlates with the observation of a metal–insulator transition, and with the existence of a maximum in the electron mobility as a function of the electron density. These results indicate hexagonal short-range ordering of the charged InAs dots.