Photocurrent response in a double barrier structure with quantum dots–quantum well inserted in central well

We report the photocurrent response in a double barrier structure with quantum dots–quantum well inserted in central well. When this quantum dots–quantum well hybrid heterostructure is biased beyond +1 or −1 V, the photocurrent response manifests itself as a step-like enhancement, increasing linearly with the light intensity. Most probably, at proper bias condition, the pulling down of the X minimum of GaAs at the outgoing interface of the emitter barrier by the photovoltaic effect in GaAs QW will initiate the Γ–X–X tunneling at much lower bias as compared with that in the dark. That gives rise to the observed photocurrent response.     

半导体量子器件物理讲座第四讲 共振隧穿器件及其电路应用

当一个电子的能量低于势垒高度时,它仍可以隧穿通过势垒,在一定条件下,双势垒结构中电子的隧穿几率甚至可以接近1,利用这种共振隧穿现象可以做成共振隧穿二极管,它的电流－电压特性曲线中会出现负微分电阻,利用这种负阻效应可以做成高频振荡器和倍频器等电子器件,双势垒结构与通常的双极晶体管结合可以做成共振隧穿双极晶体管,它们可以用来做成多态记忆器和模数转换器等器件。     

阻挡杂质带红外探测器中的界面势垒效应

通过变温暗电流和变偏压光电流谱实验对阻挡杂质带红外探测器的跃迁机理和输运特性进行了研究. 结合器件能带结构计算的结果, 证明了在阻挡杂质带红外探测器中主要由导带底下移效应引起的界面势垒的存在. 提出了阻挡杂质带红外探测器的双激发工作模型, 并从变偏压光电流谱中成功地分离出了与这两种物理过程所对应的光谱峰, 进一步证实了器件的能带结构. 研究了界面势垒效应对阻挡杂质带红外探测器的光电流谱、响应率和内量子效率的影响. 研究表明, 考虑进界面势垒效应, 计算得到的器件响应率与实验值符合得很好. 同时发现阻挡杂质带红外探测器中内建电场的存在等效降低了发生碰撞电离增益所需的临界电场强度.     

The hole transport characteristics in SiGe/Si double and triple barrier resonant tunneling structures

Experimental measurements and theoretical calculations have been used to study the hole transport characteristics in SiGe/Si double and triple barrier resonant tunneling structures. The main emphasis is put on discussing the symmetry of I–V characteristics with forward and reverse bias, their temperature dependences and relations to quantum well designs. The calculations show that at current resonance, the sub-level can be much lower (e.g, for heavy hole resonance) or much higher (e.g, for light hole resonance) than the quasi-Fermi-level in the spacer. The distinctly different features of the measured first and second resonances for SiGe/Si double and triple barrier resonant tunneling, can be understood, by considering the different population of the heavy hole and light hole bands in the spacer region and the temperature dependences of Fermi-level, carrier mobility and effective masses. The analysis of dependences of the transmission and I–V curve with quantum well designs presents the possibility of using an asymmetric triple barrier structure to improve the resonant tunneling performance.     

Tunable Fano resonances in the ballistic transmission and tunneling lifetime in a biased bilayer graphene nanostructure

Dynamics of the Dirac fermions, in particular the transmission coefficient and the resonant tunneling lifetime are studied across a bilayer graphene electrostatic double barrier structure modulated by an in plane homogeneous electric field. Asymmetric Fano type resonances are noted for the first time in the transmission spectrum of the bilayer graphene nanostructures and are found to be highly sensitive to the direction of incidence of the charge carriers and the applied homogeneous electric field. The effect of the external field on the extended and the evanescent modes is also analysed. Resonant tunneling lifetime is found to be highly anisotropic in nature. The chiral carriers are either accelerated or decelerated by the electric field depending on the energy of the quasi-bound states, the angle of incidence and the magnitude of the applied field. Effects of the external field on the localization of the chiral carriers are also discussed.     

The photocurrent of resonant tunneling diode controlled by the charging effects of quantum dots

We experimentally studied the photocurrent of AlAs/GaAs/AlAs double barrier resonant tunneling diode (RTD), which is composed of an InAs layer of self-assembled quantum-dots on top of AlAs barrier layer. It is found that the charging InAs quantum dots can effectively modulate the carrier transport properties of the RTD. Moreover, we also found that the resonant tunneling current through a single energy level of an individual quantum dot is extremely sensitive to the photo-excited holes bound nearby the dot, and the presence of the holes lowers the electrostatic energy of the quantum dot state. In addition, it is also observed that the photocurrent behaves like step way with the individual photon pulse excitation when the illumination is low enough. The experiment results well demonstrated the quantum amplified characteristics of the device.     

Resonant tunneling and enhanced Goos–Hänchen shift in a graphene double velocity barrier structure

Resonant transmission and Goos–Hänchen (GH) shift for Dirac fermion beams tunneling through graphene double velocity barrier structures (DVBs) are investigated theoretically. Analytical and numerical results demonstrate that strong resonant tunneling effect occurs in this structure and is highly dependent on the incident angle and the structure of velocity barriers. The resonant tunneling in graphene DVBs belongs to the Fabry–Pérot resonance and leads to oscillated conduction at wide energy range. It is also found that GH shifts in this structure can be enhanced by the resonant tunneling and multi-GH shift peaks with giant magnitudes can occur at these resonant energy positions. These special properties of GH shifts in graphene DVBs may have good application in lateral manipulation of electron beams and valley or spin beam splitter.     

Vertical three-terminal structures in semiconductor heterostructure quantum wells using a novel sidewall gating technique

We present the application of a self-aligned sidewall gating technique in the fabrication of gated resonant tunneling devices with active mesa areas in the sub-micron regime. This technique should prove useful for the fabrication of variable area, vertical quasi one- and two-dimensional structures. We present current-voltage curves of gated devices at room temperature and liquid nitrogen temperatures for conduction in both directions through the double barrier structure. An analysis demonstrating the vertical uniformity of the gate field around the double barrier structure, a discussion on the possible extension of the technique to low-dimensional structures and the limits of application are presented.     

Carrier transport in III–V quantum-dot structures for solar cells or photodetectors

According to the well-established light-to-electricity conversion theory,resonant excited carriers in the quantum dots will relax to the ground states and cannot escape from the quantum dots to form photocurrent,which have been observed in quantum dots without a p–n junction at an external bias.Here,we experimentally observed more than 88% of the resonantly excited photo carriers escaping from In As quantum dots embedded in a short-circuited p–n junction to form photocurrent.The phenomenon cannot be explained by thermionic emission,tunneling process,and intermediate-band theories.A new mechanism is suggested that the photo carriers escape directly from the quantum dots to form photocurrent rather than relax to the ground state of quantum dots induced by a p–n junction.The finding is important for understanding the low-dimensional semiconductor physics and applications in solar cells and photodiode detectors.     

Quantum box resonant tunneling spectroscopy: Experiments and modelisation

We have calculated the potential profile and the electronic levels in resonant tunneling double barrier structures with nanometric lateral dimensions (≤ 500 nm) for various contact doping. At biases for which the box states (laterally confined quantum well) are resonant with the emitter Fermi level, fine structures are expected in the resonant tunneling current. Comparison with I(V) characteristics measured on nanometric GaAs/GaAlAs and GaAs/GaAlAs/InGaAs resonant tunneling diodes shows that our model accounts for the resonance bias voltage and explains the shape of the current peak. The fine structure observed in the current peak provides a spectroscopy of the confined states in the quantum box.     

Resonant tunneling properties of inverted Morse double quantum barrier

We study resonant tunneling characteristics of inverted Morse double quantum barrier structures. The effect of electric bias and structure parameters is calculated by using non-equilibrium Green's function method. Results for the transmission coefficients are compared with the structure parameters. Our results show that the widths of the wells and heights of barriers have a significant effect on the transmission properties. We found that the resonant peak of the transmission coefficient decreases with increasing electric field bias. Moreover, resonant energy level increases with increasing barrier height and increasing width parameters.     

Improving performance of resonant tunneling devices in asymmetric structures

Based on the global coherent tunneling model, we present a self-consistent calculation and show that structural asymmetry of double barrier resonant tunneling structures (DBRTSs) significantly modifies the current–voltage characteristics compared to the symmetric structures. Within the framework of the dielectric continuum model, we further investigate the phonon-assisted tunneling (PAT) current in symmetric and asymmetric DBRTSs. Both the interface modes and the confined bulk-like longitudinal-optical phonons are considered. The results indicate that the four higher-frequency interface phonon modes (especially the one which has the largest electron–phonon interaction at either interface of the emitter barrier) dominate the PAT processes. We show that a suitably designed asymmetric structure can produce much larger peak current and absolute value of the negative differential conductivity than its commonly used symmetric counterpart.     

Single quantum dots as scanning tunneling microscope tips

We report the use of single quantum dot structures as tips on a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). A single quantum dot structure with a diameter of less than 200 nm and a height of 2 μm was fabricated by reactive ion etching. This dot was placed on a 40 μm-high mesa and mounted on the tip of a STM. The topography of large structures such as quantum wires or gold test substrates is clearly resolved with such a tip. To check the transport properties of the tip, quantum dot arrays were fabricated on resonant tunneling double barrier structures using the same process parameters. Conventional tunneling spectroscopy clearly resolved the 0D states in our samples. Using a metal substrate as second electrode such STM tips can be used to perform high resolution energy spectroscopy on single dots and free standing wire structures.     

Resonant-tunneling structure of quantum wells in the p-i-n photovoltaic element

The method for efficient separation of photoexcited carriers, based on the resonant tunneling phenomenon in the quantum well structure placed into the i-region of the p-i-n photovoltaic element, is proposed. The parameters of quantum well structures based on the GaAs/Ga_1?x In _x As system, implementing the mode of sequential resonant tunneling in the electric field of the GaAs p-i-n junction, is calculated. A microscopic model of resonant-tunneling transport in such structures is constructed, and the kinetic tunneling times are calculated depending on well and barrier parameters. The possibility of achieving sufficiently short (<～10 ps) tunneling times and, hence, quite efficient removal of photoelectrons and photoholes from quantum wells at a proper choice of barrier powers is shown.     

用光伏效应研究有机薄膜电致发光器件中的接触性质

首次发现了有机薄膜电致发光器件的光生伏特效应，通过对器件的光电流响应谱的详细研究，分析了不同结构的有机发光器件中的有机半导体之间，以及有机半导体与电极材料之间的半导体接触性质，发现有机发光材料Ａｌｑ３，有机空穴传输材料ｄａｉｍｉｎｅ与金属铝电极之间形成阻挡接触，是电致发光器件发光和产生光电效应的根本原因；而双层器件中有机层Ａｌｑ３与ｄｉａｍｉｎｅ之间的结是双层器件产生高发光效率的原因，正是这种结在双层器件中起了局限载流子和激子的作用，使发光亮度大为提高，结合分区掺杂实验结果，给出了较完善的能带模型．     

Observation of Resonant Photon Tunneling in Photonic Double Barrier Structures

Reflectance and transmittance of 632.8 nm He-Ne laser light for photonic double barrier structures (consisting of a SF10 prism, SiO₂ layer, Al or Al₂O₃ active layer, SiO₂ layer and SF10 prism) were measured as a function of the angle of incidence for both the ρ- and s-polarized incidence. Sharp reflection dips and transmission peaks were observed at angles larger than the critical angle of total reflection. The appearance of the transmission peaks can be attributed to resonant photon tunneling through the photonic double barrier structures analogous to resonant electron tunneling through double potential barrier structures. Resonant tunneling is mediated by the long-range surface plasmon polariton in the case of the Al active layer and the electromagnetic guided modes in the case of the Al₂O₃ layer.This paper was originally presented at the seventh Meeting on Near Field Optics, which was held on July 1, 1998 at Nagoya University, Nagoya, organized by Research Group on Near Field Optics, the Optical Society of Japan, an affiliate of Japan Society of Applied Physics. The authors have won the Near Field Optics Award for their best presentation at the meeting.     

Investigation of barrier tunneling characteristics of symmetrical double quantum well in In0.25Ga0.75As/GaAs/In0.25Ga0.75As heterostructure

The optical and electrophysical properties of the GaAs/In_0.25Ga_0.75As heterostructure with a symmetric double quantum well have been investigated. The influence of tunneling electrons and holes through an internal barrier of the quantum well on the shift and splitting of the quantum levels is analyzed. The theoretical estimates are compared with the results of the photoluminescence and photoconductivity measurements. The Hall measurements indicate that the barrier strongly affects the mobility of charge carriers.     

Real-space transfer by hot electron resonant tunneling

Demonstrations of real-space transfer transistors have primarily shown real-space transfer current due to thermionic emission of heated channel electrons over low heterostructure barriers. In this paper we demonstrate real-space transfer of hot electrons due to resonant tunneling through multiple AlAs/GaAs/AlAs double barrier structures.     

Direct observation of the carrier transport process in InGaN quantum wells with a pn-junction

A new mechanism of light-to-electricity conversion that uses InGaN/GaN QWs with a p-n junction is reported.According to the well established light-to-electricity conversion theory,quantum wells(QWs) cannot be used in solar cells and photodetectors because the photogenerated carriers in QWs usually relax to ground energy levels,owing to quantum confinement,and cannot form a photocurrent.We observe directly that more than 95% of the photoexcited carriers escape from InGaN/GaN QWs to generate a photocurrent,indicating that the thermionic emission and tunneling processes proposed previously cannot explain carriers escaping from QWs.We show that photoexcited carriers can escape directly from the QWs when the device is under working conditions.Our finding challenges the current theory and demonstrates a new prospect for developing highly efficient solar cells and photodetectors.     

用光伏效应研究有机薄膜电致发光器件中的接触性质

首次发现了有机薄膜电致发光器件的光生伏特效应,通过对器件的光电流响应谱的详细研究,分析了不同结构的有机发光器件中的有机半导体之间,以及有机半导体与电极材料之间的半导体接触性质,发现有机发光材料Alq3,有机空穴传输材料daimine与金属铝电极之间形成阻挡接触,是电致发光器件发光和产生光电效应的根本原因,而双层器件中有机层Alq3与diamine之间的结是双层器件产生高发光效率的原因,正是这种结在双层器件中起了局限载流子和激子的作用,使发光亮度大为提高,结合分区掺杂实验结果,给出了较完善的能带模型。