Resonant Zener tunnelling via zero-dimensional states in a narrow gap diode

Di Paola, D. M., Kesaria, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1664-0806, Makarovsky, O., Velichko, A., Evaes, L., Mori, N., Krier, A. and Patane, A. 2016. Resonant Zener tunnelling via zero-dimensional states in a narrow gap diode. Scientific Reports 6 , 32039. 10.1038/srep32039

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Abstract

Interband tunnelling of carriers through a forbidden energy gap, known as Zener tunnelling, is a phenomenon of fundamental and technological interest. Its experimental observation in the Esaki p-n semiconductor diode has led to the first demonstration and exploitation of quantum tunnelling in a condensed matter system. Here we demonstrate a new type of Zener tunnelling that involves the resonant transmission of electrons through zero-dimensional (0D) states. In our devices, a narrow quantum well of the mid-infrared (MIR) alloy In(AsN) is placed in the intrinsic (i) layer of a p-i-n diode. The incorporation of nitrogen in the quantum well creates 0D states that are localized on nanometer lengthscales. These levels provide intermediate states that act as “stepping stones” for electrons tunnelling across the diode and give rise to a negative differential resistance (NDR) that is weakly dependent on temperature. These electron transport properties have potential for the development of nanometre-scale non-linear components for electronics and MIR photonics.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Physics and Astronomy
Subjects:	Q Science > QC Physics
Additional Information:	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material.
Publisher:	Nature Publishing Group
ISSN:	2045-2322
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	8 November 2019
Date of Acceptance:	26 July 2016
Last Modified:	06 May 2023 22:57
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/114072

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