TY - JOUR
T1 - Intrinsic bistability in the resonant tunneling diode
AU - Kluksdahl, N.
AU - Kriman, A. M.
AU - Ferry, D. K.
AU - Ringhofer, Christian
N1 - Funding Information:
The quantum structure which has been most studied recently is the resonant tunneling diode (RTD)le3. A thin AlGaAs barrier is grown on a GaAs substrate by MBE. Next, a GaAs quantum well is grown on the barrier, then a second AlGaAs barrier is added. Contacts are made through resistive GaAs layers. The two AlGaAs barriers and the GaAs well constitute a resonant tunneling system. The I-V characteristic of this two terminal device has * Work supported in part by the Office of Naval Research and (+) the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
PY - 1989
Y1 - 1989
N2 - Quantum transport in the resonant tunneling diode is modeled here with the Wigner formalism including self-consistent potentials for the first time. The calculated I-V characteristics show an intrinsic bistability in the negative differential conductivity region of the curve. We show that intrinsic bistability results from charge storage and the subsequent shifting of the internal potential of the device. The effect of undoped spacer layers is investigated. The cathode region of the RTD shows a strong depletion and quantization of electrons in a deep triangular potential well if no spacer layer is present. The potential drop in the cathode well reduces the barrier height to ballistic electron injected from the cathode, enhancing the valley current and reducing the peak-valley ratio. A finite relaxation time for the electrons increases the negative resistance, reduces the peak to valley ratio of the current, and causes a 'soft' hysteresis in the bistable region. The spacer layer prevents the formation of a deep quantum well at the cathode barrier, and the distribution does not deplete as sharply as without the spacer layer.
AB - Quantum transport in the resonant tunneling diode is modeled here with the Wigner formalism including self-consistent potentials for the first time. The calculated I-V characteristics show an intrinsic bistability in the negative differential conductivity region of the curve. We show that intrinsic bistability results from charge storage and the subsequent shifting of the internal potential of the device. The effect of undoped spacer layers is investigated. The cathode region of the RTD shows a strong depletion and quantization of electrons in a deep triangular potential well if no spacer layer is present. The potential drop in the cathode well reduces the barrier height to ballistic electron injected from the cathode, enhancing the valley current and reducing the peak-valley ratio. A finite relaxation time for the electrons increases the negative resistance, reduces the peak to valley ratio of the current, and causes a 'soft' hysteresis in the bistable region. The spacer layer prevents the formation of a deep quantum well at the cathode barrier, and the distribution does not deplete as sharply as without the spacer layer.
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U2 - 10.1016/0749-6036(89)90322-4
DO - 10.1016/0749-6036(89)90322-4
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0024940491
SN - 0749-6036
VL - 5
SP - 397
EP - 401
JO - Superlattices and Microstructures
JF - Superlattices and Microstructures
IS - 3
ER -