Abstract
Hydrostatic pressure and high magnetic fields are used to study space charge buildup under resonant tunneling conditions in an asymmetric double barrier structure based on n-type GaAs/(AlGa)As. The space charge buildup gives rise to an intrinsic bistability effect in the current-voltage characteristics. The pressure-induced increase in Γ-X tunneling and scattering reduces the resonant space charge buildup and allows us to study the transition from intrinsic bistablity to ordinary negative differential conductivity in I(V). Over a certain pressure range a sharp resonance is observed in which electrons tunnel into the well via Γ-states and scatter out mainly via X-states, a clear example of sequential tunneling. The final part of the paper describes a remarkable enhancement of the intrinsic bistability when a quantizing magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the barriers. This is associated with the strong degeneracy of Landau levels at high magnetic fields.
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Eaves, L., Foster, T.J., Leadbeater, M.L., Maude, D.K. (1991). Charge Buildup, Intrinsic Bistability and Energy Relaxation in Resonant Tunneling Structures: High Pressure and Magnetic Field Studies. In: Chang, L.L., Mendez, E.E., Tejedor, C. (eds) Resonant Tunneling in Semiconductors. NATO ASI Series, vol 277. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3846-2_22
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3846-2_22
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