Abstract
Polytype heterostructures of GaSb/AlSb/InAs show interband tunneling due to the 0.1 eV overlap of the InAs conduction band and the GaSb valence band. This broken-gap configuration results in a novel mechanism for negative differential resistance (NDR) that has potential applications in highspeed devices. Single-barrier structures show negative differential resistance due to the change in interband tunneling with applied bias. Double-barrier structures exhibit resonant interband tunneling with higher peak-to-valley current ratios due to the resonance enhancement of the tunneling current and the bandgap blocking of the nonresonant current components. Using InAs as the base in a double-barrier polytype heterostructure, resonant tunneling at room temperature through a quantum well as wide as 110 nm has been demonstrated. Also, GaSb/InAs/AlSb/GaSb structures have exhibited NDR with peak-to-valley ratios as high as 20:1 at 300 K and peak current densites of 28 kA/cm2 as a result of resonant interband coupling.
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© 1991 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Longenbach, K.F., Luo, L.F., Wang, W.I. (1991). Tunneling in Polytype InAs/AlSb/GaSb Heterostructures. 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_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3846-2_4
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