Quantum Kinetic Theory of Tunneling Devices

Abstract

Over the past few years, a quantum kinetic approach has been developed for simulating the behavior of resonant-tunneling devices. It permits a consistent description of inelastic processes and admits open-system boundary conditions which model the effect of the external circuit to which the device is connected. Much of the power of the kinetic approach follows from its suitability for direct numerical solution, and this is illustrated by evaluating the ac small-signal response. The need to include dissipative processes in any analysis is demonstrated by calculations of the self-consistent potential within different models.