Commensurability oscillations in a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas subject to strong in-plane magnetic field

• Influence of the in-plane magnetic field on commensurability oscillations is studied.
• Quasi-classical theory of the guiding-center drift was extended to this case.
• Importance of in-plane field-induced deformation of electron orbits is revealed.

We report on a theoretical study of the commensurability oscillations in a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas modulated by a unidirectional periodic potential and subject to tilted magnetic fields with a strong in-plane component. As a result of coupling of the in-plane field component and the confining potential in the finite-width quantum well, the originally circular cyclotron orbits become anisotropic and tilted out of the sample plane. A quasi-classical approach to the theory, that relates the magneto-resistance oscillations to the guiding-center drift, is extended to this case.