Spiking in an activator-inhibitor model for elements with S-shaped negative differential conductivity

Self-organized spatio-temporal dynamics of electrical transport is described by a simple noncubic activator-inhibitor system derived for layered semiconductor structures. The model exhibits a novel mode of self-sustained oscillations due to current filaments switching on and off (spiking) which may be periodic or chaotic. Additionally, we obtain complex multifilamentary spatio-temporal patterns. As such phenomena have been observed in various devices exhibiting S-shaped negative differential conductivity, our model is suggested to describe a generic mechanism.