The I-V characteristics of double barrier stair-wells

We investigated the I-V characteristics of the double barrier stair-well structure. Resonant tunneling current is achieved by application of an electric field, which increases the transmission under positive bias and decreases it under the reverse bias. This asymmetry can be used for rectification and the device works as a quantum diode. Furthermore, the same structure can perform, under negative bias, resonant tunneling processes with different characteristics.     

Level width of a quasibound state in a double-barrier parabolic-well resonant tunneling structure

Taking exact Airy functions and Hermitian functions as envelope functions, we investigate in detail the level width of a quasibound state for electrons coherent resonant tunneling through symmetric and asymmetric double-barrier parabolic-well resonant tunneling structures (DBRT) with the transfer-matrix formalism. It is found that for the symmetric structure and the asymmetric structure with left barrier thicker than the right one, both the level width and the peak value vary monotonously with increasing applied bias, but for the asymmetric DBRT structure with left barrier thinner than the right one, they change nonmonotonously. The nonmonotonous variations of the level width and the peak value reflect the transition of tunneling type (i.e. first from incompletely resonant tunneling to completely resonant tunneling, and then from completely resonant tunneling back to incompletely resonant tunneling). The effects of well width, barrier thickness and barrier height on the level width and the peak value are also inspected.     

InAs量子点在肖特基势垒二极管输运特性中的影响

在77到292K的范围内,系统研究了含InAs自组装量子点的金属-半导体-金属双肖特基势垒二极管的输运特性.随着温度上升,量子点的存储效应引起的电流回路逐渐减小.在测试温度范围内,通过量子点的共振隧穿过程在电流电压(I-V)曲线中造成台阶结构,且使电流回路随温度的上升急剧减小.根据肖特基势垒的反向I-V曲线,计算了势垒的反向饱和电流密度和平均理想因子.发现共振随穿效应使肖特基势垒在更大的程度上偏离了理想情况,而量子点的电子存储效应主要改变了肖特基势垒的有效势垒高度,从而影响了势垒的反向饱和电流密度 关键词： 自组装量子点 肖特基势垒 电流-电压特性     

Resonance energy level selection in symmetrical rectangular quadruple-barrier structures

Resonant tunneling is studied theoretically in symmetrical rectangular quadruple-barrier structures by taking into account mass difference between the well layer and the barrier layer. Analytical expressions for the transmission coefficient and the resonance condition are derived. Especially, it is obtained that two independent resonance energies can be determined analytically as a function of the outer and the central well widths, which may be very useful for resonant tunneling device fabrications. Furthermore, the variation of the resonance energy with the outer barrier width is investigated. It is found that the resonance level is rarely affected with a small change of the outer barrier width. It is derived analytically that the transmission peak is decreased to less than unity when the outer barrier width becomes thinner than a critical value.     

Dependence of current-voltage characteristics of pseudomorphic AlAs/In0.53a0.47s/InAs resonant tunneling diodes on quantum well widths

This paper studies the dependence of I-V characteristics on quantum well widths in AlAs/In_0.53Ga_0.47As and AlAs/In_0.53Ga_0.47As/InAs resonant tunneling structures grown on InP substrates. It shows that the peak and the valley current density in the negative differential resistance region are closely related with quantum well width. The measured peak current density, valley current densities and peak-to-valley current ratio of resonant tunneling diodes are continually decreasing with increasing well width.     

La施主掺杂SrTiO_3单晶的阻变性能研究

以La施主掺杂SrTiO_3(La STO)单晶为样品,制备了Pt/LaSTO/In结构存储器件.通过一系列电学测试,发现该器件具有稳定的多级阻变现象,最大开关比为10~4;高低阻电流-电压关系曲线的拟合分析表明,高阻时存在界面势垒,而低阻时满足电子隧穿模型特性.电子顺磁共振研究表明LaSTO单晶内存在带正电的空穴缺陷中心.综合分析证明器件的高低阻之间的转变由界面空位缺陷导致的电子俘获与去俘获引起.此外发现光照会对LaSTO单晶的阻值产生影响.该实验结果为LaSTO单晶在阻变存储器件中的应用提供了理论和技术指导.     

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.     

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.     

Experimental evidence of resonant tunneling via localized DQW states in an asymmetric triple barrier structure

In this work we report on field-induced features appearing in the tunneling current traces of a biased asymmetric triple barrier resonant tunneling device in the presence of an in-plane magnetic field. A theoretical model that satisfactorily explains the origin of these features is discussed. The reported data evidences the localized nature of the quantum states in thin layer asymmetric double-quantum-well structures.     

Rectification mechanism in diblock oligomer molecular diodes

We investigated a mechanism of rectification in diblock oligomer diode molecules that have recently been synthesized and showed a pronounced asymmetry in the measured I-V spectrum. The observed rectification effect is due to the resonant nature of electron transfer in the system and the localization properties of bound state wave functions of resonant states of the tunneling electron interacting with an asymmetric molecule in an electric field. The asymmetry of the tunneling wave function is enhanced or weakened depending on the polarity of the applied bias. The conceptually new theoretical approach, the Green's function theory of sub-barrier scattering, is able to provide a physically transparent explanation of this rectification effect based on the concept of the bound state spectrum of a tunneling electron. The theory predicts the characteristic features of the I-V spectrum in qualitative agreement with experiment.     

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。     

Theoretical study of resonant-tunneling and confining phenomena with mass variation in unsymmetrical rectangular double-barrier structures

Analytical expressions for the transmission coefficient and the resonance condition in unsymmetrical rectangular double-barrier structures are derived theoretically by taking into account the mass difference between well and barrier layers. It is found that resonant tunneling with a transmission peak equal to 1 (unity resonance) and resonant tunneling with a transmission peak less than 1 (below unity resonance) may occur in the unsymmetrical double-barrier structures. Two independent conditions are required for unity-resonant transmission: One is the Phase-Difference Condition for Resonance (PDCR) and the other is the Maximum Condition for the Peak Value (MCPV). The below-unity resonant transmission occurs when only condition PDCR holds. It is believed that the two conditions are useful for calculating values of the transmission coefficient and the resonance energy for the unsymmetrical double-barrier structures. They may be useful for resonant tunneling-device fabrication. Furthermore, wave functions of an electron at resonance level are calculated and the confining phenomenon is confirmed.     

Resonant tunneling mediated by resonant emission of intersubband plasmons

We study tunneling through resonant tunneling diodes (RTD) with very long emitter drift regions (up to 2 microm). In such diodes, charge accumulation occurs near the double barrier on the emitter side, in a self-induced potential pocket. This leads to a substantial enhancement of the wave function overlap between states of the pocket and the RTD, and, consequently, to increased off-resonant current mediated by various scattering processes. For RTD with the longest drift region (2 microm), an additional strong current peak is observed between the first and the second resonant peaks. We attribute this pronounced feature to the intersubband transitions mediated by resonant emission of intersubband plasmons.     

Effect of frequency dependent electron-electron interaction on resonant tunneling

In electron resonant tunneling through a double barrier structure, we show that dynamical electron-electron interactions in the resonant well can give rise to additional tunneling satellites due to collective electronic excitations. We present a first principle treatment for frequency-dependent electron-electron interactions in the resonant tunneling problem. The result confirms the previously proposed plasmon assisted resonant tunneling mechanism. We also find that the particle-hole excitation has very little effect on resonant tunneling. Our result can be applied to study the effects of various electronic excitations on the resonant tunneling of electrons.     

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.     

硅基双势垒金属-绝缘层-金属-绝缘层-半导体隧道发光结

讨论了硅基双势垒金属－绝缘层－金属－绝缘层－半导体（MIMIS）隧道发光结的结构、制备方法及发光特性。所制备的样品最大发光亮度达到1．9cd/m^2、光谱的峰值波长移到了蓝绿光区，表明双势垒MIMIS隧道发光结的性能优于单势垒金属－绝缘层－半导体（MIS）隧道发光结。利用量子力学的共振隧穿效应对它作了较好的解释。     

通过纳米硅中量子点的共振隧穿

用纳米硅(nc-Si∶H)薄膜制成了隧道二极管，并在其I-V曲线上发现了不连续的量子化台阶.二极管的I-V曲线可分成二部分：(1)0—7V，电流随外加电压增大而增大；(2)7—9V，电流随外加电压急剧增大并出现三个量子化台阶.量子化台阶的出现直接与纳米硅中的晶粒有关，根据nc-Si∶H的独特结构，对载流子的传导通道进行了讨论；用通过nc-Si∶H中量子点的共振隧穿对I-V曲线进行了初步解释. 关键词：     

双势垒结构Cu-Al2O3-MgF2-Au隧道结中的电子共振隧穿与发光特性研究

制备了Cu-Al₂O₃-MgF₂-Au双势垒隧道发光结,分析了结加上一定偏压后的电子隧穿过程.指出由于构成隧道结的绝缘栅薄膜的厚度及禁带宽度的不同而导致双势垒中能级产生分裂,使电子通过栅区时产生共振隧穿现象.根据这一现象,并结合结的I-V特性,对结的发光性能进行了讨论.这种结构的结与普通单势垒MIM结相比,其发光效率(10^-6—10^-5)提高了近一个数量级,且发光光谱的波长范围及谱峰均向短波长方向 关键词：     

Magneto-tunneling spectroscopy of GaAs---AlGaAs double barrier tunneling devices in pulsed high magnetic fields up to 40T

The magneto-tunneling effect was investigated in GaAs---AlGaAs double barrier resonant tunneling devices in pulsed high magnetic fiels up to 40T applied parallel(B) and perpendicular (B) to the barrier layers. In a sample with , oscillatory structures due to the 2D electrons in the emitter and the LO phonon assisted resonant tunneling were observed when the magnetic field (B) was swept at constant bias voltages. A large drop of the current was found in the quantum limit at applied voltages below the negative differential conductivity region. A striking hysteresis was observed in the voltage-current (V - I) curves. In a wide well sample with , rich structures were observed in the V - I curve for B, corresponding to the tunneling to different cyclotron orbits from the emitter.