Excited state resonant tunneling in GaAsAlxGa1−xAs double barrier heterostructures

Resonant tunneling through the ground and first excited state of single quantum well, double barrier GaAsAl_xGa_1−xAs heterostructures is reported. Negative differential resistance from both quantum well states is observable up to room temperature in one of these structures. The observed positions of the quantum well states agree well with theory, though there exists an asymmetry in the current-voltage characteristics about the origin.     

Effect of quantizing magnetic field on the spectrum and damping of polaritons in double two-dimensional electronic systems

Nonradiative (surface and bulk) polaritons in a semiconductor structure composed of two heterojunctions GaAs/Al_xGa_1?x As are investigated under the integer quantum Hall effect (IQHE) conditions. The dispersive, polarization, and energy characteristics of these polaritons are determined including energy dissipation in the two-dimensional electron semiconductor layers. The phase and group velocities of surface and bulk polaritons are shown to be quantized under the IQHE conditions. It is found that resonance coupling of two surface polariton modes may occur in double GaAs/Al_xGa_1?x As heterojunctions. Possible experimental observation of nonradiative polaritons is discussed.     

Magnetotunneling spectroscopy of polarons in a quantum well of a resonant-tunneling diode

Resonant tunneling of electrons is thoroughly studied in in-plane magnetic fields. Anticrossing is revealed in a spectrum of two-dimensional electrons at energies of optical phonons. The magnetic field changes the momentum of tunneling electrons and causes a voltage shift of a resonance in the tunnel spectra in accordance with the electron dispersion curve. Anticrossing is clearly observed in second derivative current-voltage characteristics of a resonant tunneling diode made of a double-barrier Al_0.4Ga_0.6As/GaAs heterostructure.     

Efficient spin filtering in a disordered semiconductor superlattice in the presence of Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling

The influence of the Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling on spin polarization by tunneling through a disordered semiconductor superlattice was investigated. The Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling causes the spin polarization of the electron due to transmission possibilities difference between spin up and spin down electrons. The electron tunneling through a zinc-blende semiconductor superlattice with InAs and GaAs layers and two variable distance In_xGa_(1−x)As impurity layers was studied. One hundred percent spin polarization was obtained by optimizing the distance between two impurity layers and impurity percent in disordered layers in the presence of Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling. In addition, the electron transmission probability through the mentioned superlattice is too much near to one and an efficient spin filtering was recommended.     

Andreev states and the Josephson effect in superconducting heterojunctions on thin YBa2Cu3Ox films

Conductance anomalies at low bias voltages and superconducting currents in Au/YBa₂Cu₃O_x and Nb/Au/YBa₂Cu₃O_x heterojunctions in which the c axis of the YBa₂Cu₃O_x (YBCO) epitaxial film is rotated in the (110) YBCO plane through 11° with respect to the normal to the substrate plane were studied experimentally. The films were prepared by laser deposition onto (7 2 10)-oriented NdGaO₃ substrates. The current-voltage characteristics of the heterojunctions exhibit conductance anomalies at low voltages. The behavior of these anomalies is studied at various temperatures and in various magnetic fields. The critical current and Shapiro steps observed in the current-voltage characteristics of Nb/Au/YBa₂Cu₃O_x were evidence of the Josephson effect in these heterojunctions. The experimental results are analyzed in terms of the model of the arising of bound states caused by Andreev reflection in superconductors with d-type symmetry of the superconducting order parameter.     

Effect of hydrostatic pressure on characteristics of GaAs-Ge1−x(GaAs)x heterojunctions

The conditions of obtention of nGaAs-pGe_1–x(GaAs)_x alloy heterojunctions and the behavior of the electrical and photoelectric characteristics of these structures under hydrostatic compression were investigated. It is shown that the mechanism of current transport in this structure is of the tunneling-recombination type. The pressure coefficients of the forbidden gap width in the solid solution, the effective electron mass in gallium arsenide, and the height of the potential barrier were experimentally determined.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 2, pp. 90–93, February, 1979.     

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.     

Resonant tunneling in electrically biased multibarrier systems

The effect of a uniform electric field on the resonant tunneling across multibarrier systems (GaAs/Al_xGa_1−xAs and GaN/Al_xGa_1−xN) is exhaustively explored by a computational model using exact Airy function formalism and the transfer-matrix technique. The numerical computation takes care of the common problems of numerical inefficiency and overflow associated with the Airy functions for low-applied voltages. The model presents the study of both the field-free and field-dependent tunneling across multibarrier systems using a single formalism. The current-voltage characteristics, studied for the multibarrier systems with different number of barriers, exhibit all the experimentally observed features like resonant peaks, negative differential conductivity regimes, etc. Our results have both qualitative and quantitative agreement with the reported experimental findings.     

多层异质结构中的声学声子输运

在连续弹性近似下，采用转移矩阵方法，研究了由不同含Al浓度的异质结(GaAs/Al_{xiGa1-xiAs)所构成的对称多层异质结构中的声学声子输运性质.结果表明：该结构中的声子透射谱具有与同组分厚度超晶格(GaAs/AlAs )不一样的特征，具体体现在透射曲线振荡幅度与频率等方面；声子透射谱特征与对称异质结构中AlxiGa1-xiAs层的含Al浓度xi(i表示对称轴两边的第i层)的分布有很大的关系，具体表现为：当xi随i的增加而递减时，透射谱线除主波谷外较平滑；而当xi随i的增加而递增时，透射谱振荡明显增大，且主波谷被分裂.声子透射系数还依赖于异质结组分层的厚度，尤其是AlxiGa1-xiAs的厚度.另外，异质结的层数对声子输运也产生一定的影响. 关键词： 输运 声子 异质结}     

Interfacial reaction and electrical characteristics of Cu(RuTaNx) on GaAs: Annealing effects

This study elucidates the thermal stability and quasi ohmic contact characteristics of Cu(RuTaN_x) fabricated on a barrierless GaAs substrate. Cu(RuTaN_x) was prepared by cosputtering Cu, Ta, Ru, and N. The resistivity of the Cu(RuTaN_x)/GaAs structure annealed at 500 °C for 30 min was lower than that of the as-deposited structure, and the former was thermally stable up to 500 °C after 30 min of annealing. Further, the Cu(RuTaN_x)/GaAs structure exhibited electrical rectifying properties upon annealing at 550 °C for 10 min and revealed a quasi ohmic contact, as determined by the circular transmission line model (CTLM). The formation of quasi ohmic contact is further confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.     

Lateral tunneling through the controlled barrier between edge channels in a two-dimensional electron system

A study is made of the lateral tunneling between edge channels at the depletion-induced edges of a gated two-dimensional electron system, through a gate-voltage-controlled barrier arising when the donor layer of the heterostructure is partly removed along a fine strip by means of an atomic force microscope. For a sufficiently high barrier the typical current-voltage characteristic is found to be strongly asymmetric, having, in addition to the positive tunneling branch, a negative branch that corresponds to the current overflowing the barrier. It is established that the barrier height depends linearly on both the gate voltage and the magnetic field, and the data are described in terms of electron tunneling between the outermost edge channels. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 69, No. 8, 561–566 (25 April 1999) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Resonant electron tunneling in GaN/Ga1−x AlxN(0001) strained structures with spontaneous polarization and piezoeffect

Electron tunneling through the GaN/Ga_1?x Al_xN(0001) wurtzite strained structures is investigated by the pseudopotential and scattering matrix methods. It is shown that the results of multiband calculations at low aluminum concentrations (x<0.3) are adequately described within the single-valley model in the envelope wave function method accounting for the dependences of the effective mass on the energy and strain. Upon electron tunneling through two-barrier structures, sharp resonance peaks are observed at a barrier thickness of several monolayers and the characteristic collision time in the resonance region is equal to ～1 ps. The internal electric fields associated with spontaneous and piezoelectric polarizations lead to a “red” or “blue” shift in the resonance energy according to the thickness and location of barriers with respect to the polar axis. In the (GaN)_n(Ga_1?x Al_xN)_m superlattices, the internal fields can form the Stark ladder of electronic states at a small number of ultrathin layers even in the absence of external fields.     

Impurity absorption of light involving resonant states of shallow donors in quantum wells

The energy spectrum of localized and resonant states of shallow donors in heterostructures GaAs/Al_xGa_1?xAs with quantum wells is calculated. The widths of the resonant states belonging to the second size quantization subband are determined. It is shown that the width of a resonance level is mainly determined by the interaction with optical phonons. The spectrum of impurity absorption of light due to electron transitions from the ground state of the donor to the resonant states belonging to the second size quantization subband is calculated.     

Resonant tunneling of electrons between two-dimensional systems of different densities in a quantizing magnetic field

The results of experimental investigation of the vertical electron transport in a GaAs/Al_0.3Ga_0.7As/GaAs single-barrier tunneling heterostructure with a doped barrier are presented. Two-dimensional accumulation layers appear on different sides of the barrier as a result of the ionization of Si donors in the barrier layer. The nonmonotonic shift of the current peak is found in the I–V curve of the tunneling diode in a magnetic field perpendicular to the planes of two-dimensional layers. Such a behavior is shown to be successfully explained in the model of appearing the Coulomb pseudogap and the pinning of the spin-split Landau levels at the Fermi levels of the contacts. In this explanation, it is necessary to assume that the Landé factor is independent of the filling factors of the Landau levels and is g* = 7.5 for both layers.     

Accumulation layer and interface effects in doped nonabrupt GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterojunctions

A theoretical model is proposed to describe doped nonabrupt GaAs/Al_xGa_1-xAs heterojunctions. It is used to study interface effects on the transmission properties and energy levels of electrons in these heterostructures. It is showed that interface effects are important in the case of high doping levels, and wide GaAs/Al_xGa_1-xAs interfaces.     

Tunneling of electrons in quantum wells with indirect gap semiconductor barriers

One of the features peculiar to GaAs-Ga_1−xAl_x As quantum wells with x ⩾0.43 are barriers formed by an indirect gap semiconductor. We make use of a simple one-dimensional tight-binding model to study the tunneling properties of such a system. Wave-functions and probabilities associated with an electron in each spatial region as a function of time are computed and compared with the results of a simple square barrier model. It is shown that the states related to the indirect conduction band minima of the barrier act as a new channel and increase the tunneling current between the wells. We suggest that these states are the origin of an unexplained structure observed in photoemission from a double quantum well. The effect of an external electric field is analyzed as well.     

Evolution of the spectral parameters of quasiparticles in an open symmetrical three-barrier resonant tunneling nanostructure

The spectral parameters (resonance energies and resonance widths) of quasi-stationary states in an open symmetrical three-barrier resonant tunneling nanostructure have been theoretically calculated in terms of the model of spatially dependent effective masses and rectangular potentials of quasiparticles (electrons, holes, excitons) by using the methods of transmission coefficient, scattering matrix, and probability distribution function. The evolution of the spectral parameters of quasi-stationary states of quasiparticles as a function of the variation in the geometric sizes of the nanosystem has been calculated and analyzed for the open three-barrier resonant tunneling structure consisting of three barriers (GaAs) and two wells (In_0.25Ga_0.75As) as an example. It has been established that the experimental and theoretical results are in satisfactory agreement for the model without fitting parameters in the case of a heavy exciton.     

Effect of interface roughness on the density of states of finite barrier height quantum wells

We calculate the density of states of a 2D electron gas in finite barrier height quantum wells with the explicit inclusion of the interface roughness effect. By using Feynman path-integral method, the analytic expression is derived. The results show that the 2D density of states is dependent on the RMS of the fluctuation potential. The interface roughness causes localized states below the subband edge. We also apply the theory to model the finite barrier height quantum wells in Al_xGa_1?xAs/GaAs.     

Spin-dependent current in resonant tunneling diode with ferromagnetic GaMnN layers

The spin-polarized tunneling current through a double barrier resonant tunneling diode (RTD) with ferromagnetic GaMnN emitter/collector is investigated theoretically. Two distinct spin splitting peaks can be observed at current-voltage (I-V) characteristics at low temperature. The spin polarization decreases with the temperature due to the thermal effect of electron density of states. When charge polarization effect is considered at the heterostructure, the spin polarization is enhanced significantly. A highly spin-polarized current can be obtained depending on the polarization charge density.