Transport in transverse magnetic fields in resonant tunneling structures

We report measurements on the magnetotunneling characteristics of a high-quality bistable double-barrier resonant tunneling device in magnetic fields transverse to the tunneling direction. The transverse magnetic field ${\mathit{B}}_{\mathrm{\perp }}$ causes complex, nonmonotonic shifts in the position of the resonant current peak in the I(V) curve. The resonant peak is also strongly broadened by ${\mathit{B}}_{\mathrm{\perp }}$, and the peak current is suppressed. The intrinsic bistability of the device is quenched for ${\mathit{B}}_{\mathrm{\perp }}$>5 T. We explain these effects by invoking the magnetic-field-induced change in transverse momentum Δk as electrons tunnel into the well. The change Δk alters both the tunneling supply function and the tunneling probability for a given alignment of the resonant subband and the emitter electrode. Self-consistent calculations based on this model reproduce the complex behavior of resonant peak position and explain the experimentally observed magnetic-field effects.