Effect of band mixing on hole-tunneling times in GaAs/AlAs double-barrier heterostructures

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Abstract
We examine the influence of band mixing on hole-tunneling times in GaAs/AlAs double-barrier heterostructures using the eight-band effective bond-orbital model. We find that mixing of heavy-hole and light-hole states in the valence subbands can substantially reduce hole-tunneling times from the values predicted by the Kronig-Penney model, which does not account for band mixing. These results are in agreement with the experimental measurements of Jackson et al. [Appl. Phys. Lett. 54, 552 (1989)], indicating that hole-tunneling times are much shorter than predicted by the Kronig-Penney model, and comparable in fact to electron-tunneling times. We also compare our calculation with an earlier phenomenological model for incorporating band-mixing effects in the calculation of hole-tunneling times.