Quantum Well Width Dependence of Negative Differential Resistance of In0.52Al0.48As/In0.53Ga0.47As Resonant Tunneling Barriers Grown by MBE

Abstract
The effect of quantum well width on the negative differential resistance (NDR) at 77 K of an InAlAs/InGaAs resonant tunneling barrier structure, lattice-matched to InP substrates and grown by MBE, was studied. The best NDR characteristics ever reported (peak-to-valley ratio of 11.4 with peak current density of 5.5×104 A/cm2) have been achieved for a resonant tunneling barrier diode with a thin quantum well width of 44 Å. A reduction of electron effective mass in the InAlAs barrier layer was also observed.