Spatial imaging of two-dimensional electronic states in semiconductor quantum wells

We measure the spatial distribution of the local density of states (LDOS) at cleaved surfaces of InAs/GaSb isolated quantum wells and double quantum wells (DQWs) by low-temperature scanning tunneling spectroscopy. Distinct standing wave patterns of LDOS corresponding to subbands are observed. These LDOS patterns and subband energies agree remarkably well with simple calculations with tip-induced band bending. Furthermore, for the DQWs, coupling of electronic states between the quantum wells is also clearly observed.     

Above GaSb barrier in type II quantum well structures for mid-infrared emission detected by Fourier-transformed modulated reflectivity

Modulation spectroscopy in its Fourier-transformed mode has been employed to investigate the optical properties of broken gap ‘W’-shaped GaSb/AlSb/InAs/InGaSb/InAs/AlSb/GaSb quantum well structures designed to emit in the mid infrared range of 3–4 μm for applications in laser-based gas sensing. Besides the optical transitions originating from the confined states in the type II quantum wells, a number of spectral features at the energy above the GaSb band gap have been detected. They have been analyzed in a function of InAs and GaSb layer widths and ultimately connected with resonant states in the range of AlSb tunneling barriers.     

(InAs)1/(GaSb)1超晶格原子链的第一原理研究

利用第一原理平面波赝势法, 对(InAs)₁/(GaSb)₁超晶格原子链的原子结构、力学特性、电子能带结构、 声子结构和光学特性进行研究, 并结合密度泛函理论数值原子轨道赝势法和非平衡格林函数法计算量子输运特性. 与二维层结构的(InAs)₁/(GaSb)₁超晶格相比, (InAs)₁/(GaSb)₁超晶格原子链的能带结构有明显不同, 在某些情况下表现为金属能带特性. 对理想条件下(InAs)₁/(GaSb)₁ 超晶格原子链的力学强度计算表明, 该结构可承受的应变高达 ε=0.19. 通过对声子结构的完整布里渊区分析, 研究了(InAs)₁/(GaSb)₁超晶格原子链的结构稳定性. 对两端接触电极为Al纳米线的InAs/GaSb超晶格原子链的电子输运特性计算表明, 电导随链长和应变的改变而发生非单调变化.光吸收谱的计算结果表现出在红外波段具有陡峭吸收边, 截止波长随超晶格原子链的结构而变化.预计InAs/GaSb超晶格原子链可应用于红外光电子纳米器件, 通过改变超晶格原子链的结构来调节光电响应波段.     

One dimensional transport and gating of InAs/GaSb structures

Semimetallic InAs/GaSb structures are known to contain simultaneously both two dimensional electrons in the InAs and two dimensional holes in the GaSb layers. Following successful anodisation of undoped GaSb, we describe transport measurements performed on a wide area gated sample and also a single quantum point contact. In the large area gated sample, the electron density increases and the hole density decreases when a positive gate voltage is applied. Under negative bias, an additional layer of holes is created at the interface between the insulating and GaSb capping layers, which is confirmed by self-consistent modelling of the band profile under external bias. The conductance of the point contact is found to exhibit quantised values.PACS: 72.20My, 23.80Ey, 73.40Qv     

Coupling of superconductivity with low-dimensional electron systems in mesoscopic geometries

We describe effects seen in coupled superconductor–semiconductor hybrid systems in various mesoscopic geometries. The hybrid structures consist of niobium films on high mobility InAs:GaSb quantum wells which form high transparency, low-resistance interfaces exhibiting a variety of effects in their resistive transitions and differential resistance scans. Grating structures show effects arising out of the confinement of quasiparticles while dot arrays show evidence of proximity induced superconductivity scaling as the density of dots. Superconducting dots deposited on narrow semiconductor channels show suppression of Andreev reflection which we attribute to interdot diffuse scattering from the walls of the channel.     

Nano-plasmon enhancement effect on MWIR light emitting diode performance

We observed a significant increase in electro luminescence from GaSb based mid-wave infrared (MWIR) LED device through coupling with localized surface plasmon of a single layer Au nano-particles. We fabricated an interband cascade (IC) LED device with nine cascade active/injection layers with InAs/Ga_1−x In_xSb/InAs quantum well (QW) active region. Thin Au plasmon layer of 20 nm thickness is deposited on top anode electrode by e-beam technique, which resulted in 100% increase in light output for 50 μm square mesa device. We also observed a reduction in the device turn on voltage and increase in the apparent black body emission temperature due to nano-structure surface plasmon layer.     

Band hybridization effect in InAs/GaSb based quantum wells

We develop a simple way to investigate the band hybridization effect in the present of the many-body interactions in an InAs/GaSb based quantum wells with different widths. The exchange self-energy and energy gap are obtained analytically at the long wave limit. An electron-like and a hole-like dispersion relations were obtained and a minigap about several meV is observed at the intercross of the electron and hole dispersion relations. Our theoretical results show that the widths of the quantum well have crucial role on the band hybridization in such a system.     

Spatial imaging of valence band electronic structures in a GaSb/InAs quantum well

We measure local density of states (LDOS) for GaSb/InAs heterostructures with quantum wells in the valence band by scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) on the cleaved surface. Clear standingwave patterns of LDOS corresponding to the holes confined in the quantum wells are observed.     

First-principles study of interface relaxation effect on interface and electronic structures of InAs/GaSb superlattices with different interface types

We have implemented first-principles relativistic pseudopotential calculations within general gradient approximation to investigate the structural and electronic properties of quaternary InAs/GaSb superlattices with an InSb or GaAs type of interface. Because of the complexity and low symmetry of the quaternary interfaces, the interface energy and strain in the InAs/GaSb superlattice system have been calculated to determine the equilibrium interface structural parameters. The band structures of InAs/GaSb superlattices with InSb and GaAs interfaces have been calculated with respect to the lattice constant and atomic position relaxations of the superlattice interfaces. The calculation of the relativistic Hartree–Fock pseudopotential in local density approximation has also been performed to verify the calculated band structure results that have been predicted in other empirical theories. The calculated band structures of InAs/GaSb superlattices with different types of interface (InSb or GaAs) have been systematically compared. We find that the virtual–crystal approximation fails to properly describe the quaternary InAs/GaSb superlattice system, and the chemical bonding and ionicity of anion atoms are essential in determining the interface and electronic structures of InAs/GaSb superlattice system.     

Interlayer current near the edge of an InAs/GaSb double quantum well in proximity with a superconductor

We investigate charge transport through the junction between a niobium superconductor and the edge of a two-dimensional electron-hole bilayer, realized in an InAs/GaSb double quantum well. For the transparent interface with a superconductor, we demonstrate that the junction resistance is determined by the interlayer charge transfer near the interface. From an analysis of experimental I?V curves, we conclude that the proximity-induced superconductivity efficiently couples electron and hole layers at low currents. The critical current demonstrates periodic dependence on the in-plane magnetic field, while it is monotonic for the field that is normal to the bilayer plane.     

Coherent quantum transport in normal-metal/d-wave superconductor/normal-metal double tunnel junctions

Taking into account the effects of quantum interference and interface scattering, combining the electron current with hole current contribution to tunnel current,we study the coherent quantum transport in normal-metal/d-wave superconductor/normal-metal (NM/d-wave SC/NM) double tunnel junctions by using extended Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk (BTK) approach. It is shown that all quasiparticle transport coefficients and conductance spectrum exhibit oscillating behavior with the energy, in which periodic vanishing of Andreev reflection (AR) above superconducting gap is found.In tunnel limit for the interface scattering strength taken very large, there are a series of bound states of quasiparticles formed in SC.     

GaSb for passivating type-II InAs/GaSb superlattice mesas

The lack of stable passivation for mesa sidewalls is hampering the development of infrared focal plane arrays (FPAs) based on type-II InAs/GaSb superlattices (SL). We propose the use of GaSb itself to fill the space between FPA pixels, thus eliminating sidewalls and sidewall currents. In such a structure, the conduction band discontinuity between the SL and the GaSb encapsulant constrains electrons to move vertically between the contacts, while the low, vertical hole mobility causes holes to preferentially move transversely. Hence, this scheme (a) eliminates surface leakage currents, which improves detectivity and (b) reduces the density of excess holes in the active region of the device, which improves Shockley–Reed–Hall and direct recombination lifetimes, thereby the detector operating temperature and figures of merit.     

The electronic structure of InAs/GaSb(001) superlattices-two dimensional effects

Detailed calculations of the two dimensional effects in the electronic structure of InAs/GaSb(001)superlattices are presented for the first time. Comparison of the calculated thickness dependence of the superlattice band gap with optical absorption measurements shows that, at the Γ-point, the conduction band edge of InAs lies about 60 meV below the valence band edge of GaSb. Eigenfunctions of the highest light and heavy hole bands, and the lowest two conduction bands exhibit spatially confined nature in the GaSb and InAs regions respectively, thus establishing the two-dimensional nature of these bands. The calculated conduction band effective mass in the plane of the superlattice near the Γ-point is found to be enhanced by a factor of 2.5 over the bulk InAs value and compares very well with the appropriate mass extracted from recent magnetoresistance measurements.     

Terahertz Spectroscopy of Two-Dimensional Semimetal in Three-Layer InAs/GaSb/InAs Quantum Well

JETP Letters - The features of terahertz photoluminescence and magnetoabsorption in magnetic fields up to 16 T in threelayer InAs/GaSb/InAs quantum wells with a band structure corresponding to a...     

How to distinguish between specular and retroconfigurations for Andreev reflection in graphene rings

We numerically investigate Andreev reflection in a graphene ring with one normal conducting and one superconducting lead by solving the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation within the Landauer-Büttiker formalism. By tuning chemical potential and bias voltage, it is possible to switch between regimes where electron and hole originate from the same band (retroconfiguration) or from different bands (specular configuration) of the graphene dispersion, respectively. We find that the dominant contributions to the Aharonov-Bohm conductance oscillations in the subgap transport are of period h/2e in retroconfiguration and of period h/e in specular configuration, confirming the predictions obtained from a qualitative analysis of interfering scattering paths. Because of the robustness against disorder and moderate changes to the system, this provides a clear signature to distinguish both types of Andreev reflection processes in graphene.     

第一原理研究界面弛豫对InAs/GaSb超晶格界面结构、能带结构和光学性质的影响

通过广义梯度近似的第一原理全电子相对论计算, 研究了不同界面类型InAs/GaSb超晶格的界面结构、电子和光吸收特性. 由于四原子界面的复杂性和低对称性, 通过对InAs/GaSb超晶格进行电子总能量和应力最小化来确定弛豫界面的结构参数. 计算了InSb, GaAs型界面和非特殊界面(二者交替)超晶格的能带结构和光吸收谱, 考察了超晶格界面层原子发生弛豫的影响.为了证实能带结构的计算结果, 用局域密度近似和Hartree-Fock泛函的平面波方法进行了计算. 对不同界面类型InAs/GaSb超晶格的能带结构计算结果进行了比较, 发现界面Sb原子的化学键和离子性对InAs/GaSb超晶格的界面结构、 能带结构和光学特性起着至关重要的作用.     

Coherent quantum transport in normal-metal/<Emphasis Type="Italic">d</Emphasis>-wave superconductor/normal-metal double tunnel junctions

Taking into account the effects of quantum interference and interface scattering, combining the electron current with hole current contribution to tunnel current, we study the coherent quantum transport in normal-metal/d-wave superconductor/ normal-metal (NM/d-wave SC/NM) double tunnel junctions by using extended Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk (BTK) approach. It is shown that all quasiparticle transport coefficients and conductance spectrum exhibit oscillating behavior with the energy, in which periodic vanishing of Andreev reflection (AR) above superconducting gap is found. In tunnel limit for the interface scattering strength taken very large, there are a series of bound states of quasiparticles formed in SC.     

Metal-insulator oscillations in a two-dimensional electron-hole system

The electrical transport properties of a bipolar InAs/GaSb system have been studied in a magnetic field. The resistivity oscillates between insulating and metallic behavior while the quantum Hall effect shows a digital character oscillating from 0 to 1 conductance quantum e(2)/h. The insulating behavior is attributed to the formation of a total energy gap in the system. A novel looped edge state picture is proposed associated with the appearance of a voltage between Hall probes which is symmetric on magnetic field reversal.     

Quantum spin Hall effect in inverted InAs/GaSb quantum wells

We review the recent experimental progress towards observing quantum spin Hall effect in inverted InAs/GaSb quantum wells (QWs). Low temperature transport measurements in the hybridization gap show bulk conductivity of a non-trivial origin, while the length and width dependence of conductance in this regime show strong evidence for the existence of helical edge modes proposed by Liu et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett., 2008, 100: 236601]. Surprisingly, edge modes persist in spite of comparable bulk conduction and show only weak dependence on magnetic field. We elucidate that seeming independence of edge on bulk transport comes due to the disparity in Fermi-wave vectors between the bulk and the edge, leading to a total internal reflection of the edge modes.     

Electronic structure modeling of InAs/GaSb superlattices with hybrid density functional theory

The application of first-principles calculations holds promise for greatly improving our understanding of semiconductor superlattices. Developing a procedure to accurately predict band gaps using hybrid density functional theory lays the groundwork for future studies investigating more nuanced properties of these structures. Our approach allows a priori prediction of the properties of SLS structures using only the band gaps of the constituent materials. Furthermore, it should enable direct investigation of the effects of interface structure, e.g., intermixing or ordering at the interface, on SLS properties. In this paper, we present band gap data for various InAs/GaSb type-II superlattice structures calculated using the generalized Kohn-Sham formulation of density functional theory. A PBE0-type hybrid functional was used, and the portion of the exact exchange was tuned to fit the band gaps of the binary compounds InAs and GaSb with the best agreement to bulk experimental values obtained with 18% of the exact exchange. The heterostructures considered in this study are 6 monolayer (ML) InAs/6 ML GaSb, 8 ML InAs/8 ML GaSb and 10 ML InAs/10 ML GaSb with deviations from the experimental band gaps ranging from 3% to 11%.