Monte Carlo simulation of scattering-induced negative differential resistance in AlGaAs/GaAs quantum wells
- 20 June 1986
- journal article
- Published by IOP Publishing in Journal of Physics C: Solid State Physics
- Vol. 19 (17) , 3179-3192
- https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3719/19/17/014
Abstract
A detailed Monte Carlo simulation of hot-electron transport at 77K in a AlGaAs/GaAs quantum well has been carried out in the bulk-phonon approximation taking into account quasi-two-dimensional electron-electron scattering along with other quasi-two-dimensional scattering mechanisms and the effects of degeneracy, but neglecting dynamic screening and plasmon interactions. It is shown that for an intermediate range of AlGaAs donor concentrations (1017-1018 cm-3) a scattering-induced negative differential resistance (SI-NDR) occurs as previously predicted. The threshold for the onset of SI-NDR is significantly less than the thresholds for either inter-valley or real-space transfer; hence the latter mechanisms are thereby delayed to higher fields. It is pointed out that SI-NDR has a much faster relaxation time than either inter-valley or real-space transfer.Keywords
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