Pumped Spin-Current in Single Quantum Dot with Spin-Dependent Electron Temperature

Spin-dependent electron temperature effect on the spin pump in a single quantum dot connected to Normal and/or Ferromagnetic leads are investigated with the help of master equation method. Results show that spin heat accumulation breaks the tunneling rates balance at the thermal equilibrium state thus the charge current and the spin current are affected to some extent. Pure spin current can be obtained by adjusting pumping intensity or chemical potential of the lead. Spin heat accumulation of certain material can be detected by measuring the charge current strength in symmetric leads architectures. In practical devices, spin-dependent electron temperature effect is quite significant and our results should be useful in quantum information processing and spin Caloritronics.     

Single Cooper pair pump

We have operated a Cooper pair pump, a linear array of superconducting tunnel junctions in which single Cooper pairs are moved under the influence of ac signals applied to two gate electrodes. The pump is based on the Coulomb blockade of charge tunneling. Because of the small junction capacitance precisely one Cooper pair is transferred per ac cycle. The current-voltage characteristics of this device show current plateaus close to 2ef, wheref is the frequency of the ac voltages. Deviations are explained in terms of Zener tunneling, Cooper pair co-tunneling, and sporadic quasiparticle tunneling.     

Characterizations of low-temperature electroluminescence from ZnO nanowire light-emitting arrays on the p-GaN layer

Low-temperature electroluminescence from ZnO nanowire light-emitting arrays is reported. By inserting a thin MgO current blocking layer in between ZnO nanowire and p-GaN, high-purity UV light emission at wavelength 398 nm was obtained. As the temperature is decreased, contrary to the typical GaN-based light emitting diodes, our device shows a decrease of optical output intensity. The results are associated with various carrier tunneling processes and frozen MgO defects.     

Thermal Bias on the Pumped Spin-Current in a Two-Level Quantum Dot

Temperature effect on the spin pump in a two-level Quantum Dot connects to Ferromagnetic and Normal leads is investigated with the help of master equation method. In addition, thermal bias, which is inevitable in practical devices, can also excite electron tunneling. Results show that the magnitude and the direction of the temperature difference between the source and drain leads have great impact on the spin current processes. By adjusting the spin pump strength, the thermal excitation currents and pumping currents can cancel each other out, thus a net spin-current without the accompany of charge-current can be obtained. In practical devices, the thermal bias is quite general and our results are helpful for the development of spintronics devices.     

Surface defects in semiconductor lasers studied with cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy

Cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy is used to study defects on the surface of semiconductor laser devices. Step defects across the active region caused by the cleave process are identified. Curved blocking layers used in buried heterostructure lasers are shown to induce strain in the layers above them. Devices are also studied whilst powered to look at how the devices change during operation, with a numerical model that confirms the observed behavior. Whilst powered, low-doped blocking layers adjacent to the active region are found to change in real time, with dopant diffusion and the formation of surface states. A tunneling model which allows the inclusion of surface states and tip-induced band bending is applied to analyze the effects on the tunneling current, confirming that the doping concentration is reducing and defect surface states are being formed.     

AC field-controlled Andreev tunneling through a serially-coupled double quantum dot system

AC field-controlled Andreev tunneling through two serially-coupled quantum dots are investigated theoretically by using the nonequilibrium Green's function method. The photon-assisted Andreev tunneling is studied in detail. It is found that the average current depends distinctly on the interdot coupling. In the weak interdot coupling case, the average current versus the gate voltage exhibit negative peaks on the left-hand side and positive peaks on the right-hand side of the Fermi level. However, in the strong interdot coupling case, the current exhibit both negative and positive peaks on each side of the Fermi level. Furthermore, the system can function as an electron pump capable of transporting electrons through the resonant photon-assisted Andreev tunneling.     

Multi-color tunneling quantum dot infrared photodetectors operating at room temperature

Quantum dot structures designed for multi-color infrared detection and high temperature (or room temperature) operation are demonstrated. A novel approach, tunneling quantum dot (T-QD), was successfully demonstrated with a detector that can be operated at room temperature due to the reduction of the dark current by blocking barriers incorporated into the structure. Photoexcited carriers are selectively collected from InGaAs quantum dots by resonant tunneling, while the dark current is blocked by AlGaAs/InGaAs tunneling barriers placed in the structure. A two-color tunneling-quantum dot infrared photodetector (T-QDIP) with photoresponse peaks at 6 μm and 17 μm operating at room temperature will be discussed. Furthermore, the idea can be used to develop terahertz T-QD detectors operating at high temperatures. Successful results obtained for a T-QDIP designed for THz operations are presented. Another approach, bi-layer quantum dot, uses two layers of InAs quantum dots (QDs) with different sizes separated by a thin GaAs layer. The detector response was observed at three distinct wavelengths in short-, mid-, and far-infrared regions (5.6, 8.0, and 23.0 μm). Based on theoretical calculations, photoluminescence and infrared spectral measurements, the 5.6 and 23.0 μm peaks are connected to the states in smaller QDs in the structure. The narrow peaks emphasize the uniform size distribution of QDs grown by molecular beam epitaxy. These detectors can be employed in numerous applications such as environmental monitoring, spectroscopy, medical diagnosis, battlefield-imaging, space astronomy applications, mine detection, and remote-sensing.     

Red-shift law of intense laser-induced electro-absorption in solids

A theoretical study on the red-shift of laser-induced electro-absorption is presented. It is found that laser-induced red-shift scales with the cube root of the pump laser intensity in the optical tunneling regime and has an obvious deviation from this scale in the multi-photon regime. Our results show that in the optical tunneling regime, the laser-induced red shift has the same law as that in the direct current （DC） approximation. Though the scales are the same in the optical tunneling regime, the physical pictures in the two cases are quite different. The electro-absorption in the DC case is a tunneling-assisted transition process, while the laser-induced electro-absorption is a mixed multi-photon process.     

Temperature dependence of the tunneling amplitude between quantum hall edges

Recent experiments have studied the tunneling current between the edges of a fractional quantum Hall liquid as a function of temperature and voltage. The results of the experiment are puzzling because at "high" temperature (600-900 mK) the behavior of the tunneling conductance is consistent with the theory of tunneling between chiral Luttinger liquids, but at low temperature it strongly deviates from that prediction dropping to zero with decreasing temperature. In this Letter we suggest a possible explanation of this behavior in terms of the strong temperature dependence of the tunneling amplitude.     

Investigation of gate oxide traps effect on NAND flash memory by TCAD simulation

The effects of gate oxide traps on gate leakage current and device performance of metal–oxide–nitride–oxide–silicon(MONOS)-structured NAND flash memory are investigated through Sentaurus TCAD. The trap-assisted tunneling(TAT)model is implemented to simulate the leakage current of MONOS-structured memory cell. In this study, trap position, trap density, and trap energy are systematically analyzed for ascertaining their influences on gate leakage current, program/erase speed, and data retention properties. The results show that the traps in blocking layer significantly enhance the gate leakage current and also facilitates the cell program/erase. Trap density ~10¹⁸ cm^-3 and trap energy ~ 1 eV in blocking layer can considerably improve cell program/erase speed without deteriorating data retention. The result conduces to understanding the role of gate oxide traps in cell degradation of MONOS-structured NAND flash memory.     

红外波长上转换器件中载流子阻挡结构的研究

复杂半导体材料结构中的载流子分布特性对器件性能有重要影响. 本文针对一种新型的波长上转换红外探测器, 研究了载流子阻挡结构对载流子分布和器件特性的影响. 论文通过自洽求解薛定谔方程、泊松方程、电流连续性方程和载流子速率方程分析了不同器件结构中的空穴分布. 同时, 生长了相应结构的外延材料, 并通过电致荧光谱分析了载流子阻挡结构对器件特性的影响. 结果表明, 2 nm厚的AlAs势垒层既能有效阻挡空穴又不影响电子输运, 有利于制作波长上转换红外探测器. 此外, 论文分析了阻挡势垒层的厚度和高度以及工作温度对载流子分布的影响. 本文研究结果亦可应用于其他载流子非均匀分布的半导体器件.     

Inelastic resonant tunneling

A general expression for the resonant contribution to a tunneling current has been obtained and analyzed in the tunneling Hamiltonian approximation. Two types of resonant tunneling structures are considered: structures with a random impurity distribution and double-barrier structures, where the resonant level results from size quantization. The effect of temperature on the current-voltage curves of tunneling structures is discussed. The study of the effect of potential barrier profile on the d ² I/dV ² line shape is of interest for experiments in inelastic tunneling spectroscopy. Various experimental situations where the inelastic component of the tunneling current can become comparable to the elastic one are discussed. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 1151–1155 (June 1998)     

Quantum pump effect induced by a linearly polarized microwave in a two-dimensional electron gas

A quantum pump effect is predicted in an ideal homogeneous two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) that is normally irradiated by linearly polarized microwaves (MW). Without considering effects from spin-orbital coupling or the magnetic field, it is found that a polarized MW can continuously pump electrons from the longitudinal to the transverse direction, or from the transverse to the longitudinal direction, in the central irradiated region. The large pump current is obtained for both the low frequency limit and the high frequency case. Its magnitude depends on sample properties such as the size of the radiated region, the power and frequency of the MW, etc. Through the calculated results, the pump current should be attributed to the dominant photon-assisted tunneling processes as well as the asymmetry of the electron density of states with respect to the Fermi energy.     

Analytic techniques and corrections to the Tsu-Esaki tunneling current

A mathematical formalism for use in the study of the temperature dependence of Tsu-Esaki tunneling currents is developed. The discussion includes recently discovered corrections to the Tsu-Esaki tunneling current calculation. These corrections involve emitter and collector electron density effects. The tunneling current is fully amenable to numerical calculation, but some calculations can be facilitated by analytic techniques. An operator technique of Blankenbecler is illustrated and used to generate low temperature series expansions for the tunneling current and emitter-collector electron densities.     

Band offsets, Fermi levels and impurity bands in doped contact layers

A mathematical formalism for use in the study of the temperature dependence of Tsu-Esaki tunneling currents is developed. The discussion includes recently discovered corrections to the Tsu-Esaki tunneling current calculation. These corrections involve emitter and collector electron density effects. The tunneling current is fully amenable to numerical calculation, but some calculations can be facilitated by analytic techniques. An operator technique of Blankenbecler is illustrated and used to generate low temperature series expansions for the tunneling current and emitter-collector electron densities.     

Three-dimensional scanning force/tunneling spectroscopy at room temperature

We simultaneously measured the force and tunneling current in three-dimensional (3D) space on the Si(111)-(7 × 7) surface using scanning force/tunneling microscopy at room temperature. The observables, the frequency shift and the time-averaged tunneling current were converted to the physical quantities of interest, i.e. the interaction force and the instantaneous tunneling current. Using the same tip, the local density of states (LDOS) was mapped on the same surface area at constant height by measuring the time-averaged tunneling current as a function of the bias voltage at every lateral position. LDOS images at negative sample voltages indicate that the tip apex is covered with Si atoms, which is consistent with the Si-Si covalent bonding mechanism for AFM imaging. A measurement technique for 3D force/current mapping and LDOS imaging on the equivalent surface area using the same tip was thus demonstrated.     

Investigation of the quantum dot infrared photodetectors dark current

Quantum dot infrared photodetectors (QDIPs) are more efficient than other types of semiconductor based photodetectors; so it has become an actively developed field of research. In this paper quantum dot infrared photodetector dark current is evaluated theoretically. This evaluation is based on the model that was developed by Ryzhii et al. Here it is assumed that both thermionic emission and field-assisted tunneling mechanisms determine the dark current of QDIPs; moreover we have considered Richardson effect, which has not been taken into account in previous research. Then a new formula for estimating average number of electrons in a quantum dot infrared photodetector is derived. Considering the Richardson effect and field-assisted tunneling mechanisms in the dark current improves the accuracy of algorithm and causes the theoretical data to fit better in the experiment. The QDIPs dark current temperature and biasing voltage dependency, contribution of thermionic emission and field-assisted tunneling at various temperatures and biasing voltage in the QDIPs dark current are investigated. Moreover, the other parameter effects like quantum dot (QD) density and QD size effect on the QDIPs dark current are investigated.     

High temperature characteristics of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

Direct current (DC) and pulsed measurements are performed to determine the degradation mechanisms of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) under high temperature. The degradation of the DC characteristics is mainly attributed to the reduction in the density and the mobility of the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). The pulsed measurements indicate that the trap assisted tunneling is the dominant gate leakage mechanism in the temperature range of interest. The traps in the barrier layer become active as the temperature increases, which is conducive to the electron tunneling between the gate and the channel. The enhancement of the tunneling results in the weakening of the current collapse effects, as the electrons trapped by the barrier traps can escape more easily at the higher temperature.     

Non-fermi-liquid behavior in quasi-one-dimensional Li0.9Mo6O17

We present temperature dependent scanning tunneling spectroscopy data of the quasi-one-dimensional conductor Li0.9Mo6O17. The differential tunneling current in our low-temperature spectra shows a power-law behavior around the Fermi energy, which is expected for a clean Luttinger liquid. The power-law exponent is found to be 0.6. Spectra for a temperature range of 5 to 55 K can be fitted fairly well with a model for tunneling into a Luttinger liquid at the appropriate temperature. A fit with a model based on a zero bias anomaly is significantly worse compared to the Luttinger liquid model. No signature of a phase transition at T = 24 K is observed in our temperature dependent data.     

Numerical analysis of gate leakage current in AlGaN Schottky diodes

We studied theoretically the influence of the tunneling current on the leakage current in AlGaN Schottky diodes. It is shown that the most important conductance mechanism in these structures is the tunneling. The thermionic emission has lower influence on the total current practically throughout the whole reverse bias range and doping concentrations studied. For high doping concentrations we found very slow temperature dependence of the diode current.