Transport properties of the two-dimensional wigner solid on liquid helium in the presence of a high-frequency damaging electric field

Experimental studies of transport properties of the two-dimensional (2D) Wigner solid (WS) over a liquid helium surface are performed in the presence of an additional (damaging) high frequency electric field. Surface electrons are in the linear transport regime with regard to the driving electric field created by a potential of a small amplitude (about 1 mV) whose frequency varies in the range 3-8 MHz. The damaging potential applied simultaneously has substantially higher amplitudes (30-300 mV) and frequency 36 MHz. The evolution of resonance spectra of the coupled phonon-ripplon system, electron resistivity, and the effective mass of surface dimples caused by an increase in the damaging electric field amplitude is observed. At a certain damaging potential of about 300 mV the major electron-ripplon resonance is shown to disappear, which is accompanied by a sharp decrease in the dimple effective mass, and electron resistivity. Experimental data are explained by a theoretical model of high-frequency WS decoupling from surface dimples caused by the breakdown of the balance of forces applied to the WS. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.