Resonant tunneling theory of planar quantum dot structures

The ballistic transport in the semiconductor, planar, circular quantum dot structures is studied theoretically. The transmission probabilities show apparent resonant tunneling peaks, which correspond to energies of bound states in the dot. By use of structures with different angles between the inject and exit channels, the resonant peaks can be identified very effectively. The perpendicular magnetic field has obvious effect on the energies of bound states in the quantum dot, and thus the resonant peaks. The treatment of the boundary conditions simplifies the problem to the solution of a set of linear algebraic equations. The theoretical results in this paper can be used to design planar resonant tunneling devices, whose resonant peaks are adjustable by the angle between the inject and exit channels and the applied magnetic field. The resonant tunneling in the circular dot structures can also be used to study the bound states in the absence and presence of magnetic field.

Electronic structure and transport properties of quantum rings in a magnetic field

The electronic structure of quantum rings is studied in the framework of the effective-mass theory and the two dimensional hard wall approximation. In cases of both the absence and presence of a magnetic field the electron momenta of confined states and the Coulomb energies of two electrons are given as functions of the angular momentum, inner radius, and magnetic-field strength. By comparing with experiments it is found that the width of the real confinement potential is 14 nm, much smaller than the phenomenal width. The Coulomb energy of two electrons is calculated as 11.1 meV. The quantum waveguide transport properties of Aharonov-Bohm (AB) rings are studied complementarily, and it is found that the correspondence of the positions of resonant peaks in AB rings and the momentum of confined states in closed rings is good for thin rings, representing a type of resonant tunneling.

Electronic structure of diluted magnetic semiconductor superlattices: In-plane magnetic field effect

The electronic structure of diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) superlattices under an in-plane magnetic field is studied within the framework of the effective-mass theory; the strain effect is also included in the calculation. The numerical results show that an increase of the in-plane magnetic field renders the DMS superlattice from the direct band-gap system to the indirect band-gap system, and spatially separates the electron and the hole by changing the type-I band alignment to a type-II band alignment. The optical transition probability changes from type I to type II and back to type I like at large magnetic field. This phenomenon arises from the interplay among the superlattice potential profile, the external magnetic field, and the sp-d exchange interaction between the carriers and the magnetic ions. The shear strain induces a strong coupling of the light- and heavy-hole states and a transition of the hole ground states from "light"-hole to "heavy"-hole-like states.

Theory of terahertz-photocurrent resonances in miniband superlattices

The currents of de and ac components and their phase-angle cosines for a superlattice under a direct bias and alternating field are calculated with the balance equations. It is found that the de currents as functions of the direct field show resonance peaks at the fields corresponding to the Bloch frequency equal to n omega. With increasing alternating field intensity the resonance peaks of higher harmonic increase, and simultaneously the first peak caused by the de field decreases. The results are in good agreement with the experimental results, indicating that this resonance can be understood in terms of electron acceleration within the miniband, i.e., it is a bulk superlattice effect, rather than caused by the electric-field localization mechanism (Wannier Stark ladder). The phase-angle cosine for the first harmonic cos phi(1) becomes negative when the Bloch frequency increases to be larger than the frequency of the ac field omega, and it also shows resonance peaks at the resonance frequencies n omega. The negative cos phi(1) may cause the energy transferred to the alternating field, i.e., oscillation of the system.

The effects of electric field on the electronic structure of a semiconductor quantum dot

The effect of electric field on the electronic structure of a spherical quantum dot is studied in the framework of the effective-mass envelope-function theory. The dependence of the energy of electron states and hole states on the applied electric field and on the quantum dot size is investigated; the mixing of heavy holes and light holes is taken into account. The selection rule for the optical transition between the conduction band and valence band states is obtained. The exciton binding energies are calculated as functions of the quantum dot radius and the strength of the electric field. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.

Linear and nonlinear intersubband optical properties in a step quantum well with an applied electric field

Within the framework of the effective-mass envelope-function theory, the field-dependent intersubband optical properties of a Al0.4Ga0.6As/Al0.2Ga0.8As/GaAs step quantum well are investigated theoretically based on the periodic boundary condition. A very large Stark shift occurs when the lowest subband electron remains confined to the small well while the higher subband electron confined to the big well. The optical nonlinearity in a step well due to resonant intersubband transition (ISBT) is analyzed using a density-matrix approach. The second-harmonic generation coefficient chi(2 omega)((2)) and nonlinear optical rectification chi(0)((2)) have also been investigated theoretically. The results show that the ISBT in a step well can generate very large second order optical nonlinearities, chi(0)((2)) and chi(2 omega)((2)) can be tuned by the electric field over a wide range.

Design of surface emitting distributed feedback quantum cascade laser with single-lobe far-field pattern and high outcoupling efficiency

A 7.8-mu m surface emitting second-order distributed feedback quantum cascade laser (DFB QCL) structure with metallized surface grating is studied. The modal property of this structure is described by utilizing coupled-mode theory where the coupling coefficients are derived from exact Floquet-Bloch solutions of infinite periodic structure. Based on this theory, the influence of waveguide structure and grating topography as well as device length on the laser performance is numerically investigated. The optimized surface emitting second-order DFB QCL structure design exhibits a high surface outcoupling efficiency of 22% and a low threshold gain of 10 cm(-1). Using a pi phase-shift in the centre of the grating, a high-quality single-lobe far-field radiation pattern is obtained.

Gaussian diffraction model for Sb thin films in super-resolution near-field structure

SPIE

TEMPERATURE-DEPENDENCE OF THE LOW-FIELD MOBILITY OF MINIBAND CONDUCTION IN SUPERLATTICES

The existing interpretation of the T-1 temperature dependence of the low-field miniband conduction is derived from certain concepts of conventional band theory for band structures resulting from spatial periodicities commensurable with the dimensionalities of the system. It is pointed out that such concepts do not apply to the case of miniband conduction, where we are dealing with band structures resulting from a one-dimensional periodicity in a three-dimensional system. It is shown that in the case of miniband conduction, the current carriers are distributed continuously over all energies in a sub-band, but only those with energies within the width of the miniband contribute to the current. The T-1 temperature dependence of the low-field mobility is due to the depletion of these current-carrying carriers with the rise of temperature.

Threshold behavior in backgating in GaAs metal-semiconductor field-effect transistors: Induced by limitation of channel-substrate junction to leakage current

An analytical model is proposed to understand backgating in GaAs metal-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MESFETs), in which the effect of channel-substrate (CS) junction is included. We have found that the limitation of CS junction to leakage current will cause backgate voltage to apply directly to CS junction and result in a threshold behavior in backgating effect. A new and valuable expression for the threshold voltage has been obtained. The corresponding threshold electric field is estimated to be in the range of 1000-4000 V/cm and for the first time is in good agreement with reported experimental data. More, the eliminated backgating effect in MESFETs that are fabricated on the GaAs epitaxial layer grown at low temperature is well explained by our theory. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.

A DOUBLE-QUANTUM-WELL IN A DRIVING LASER FIELD

The dynamic effect of electrons in a double quantum well under the influence of a monochromatic driving laser field is investigated. Closed-form solutions for the quasienergy and Floquet states are obtained with the help of SU(2) symmetry. For the case of weak interlevel coupling, explicit expressions of the quasienergy are presented by the use of perturbation theory, from which it is found that as long as the photon energy is not close to the tunnel splitting, the electron will be confined in an initially occupied eigenstate of the undriven system during the whole evolution process. Otherwise, it will transit between the lowest two levels in an oscillatory behavior.

Mode theory and analysis of planar array waveguides

Bloch modes can be excited in planar array due to its periodic lateral refractive index. The power coupled into each eigenmode of the array waveguides is calculated through the overlap integrals of the input field with the eigenmode fields of the coupled infinite array waveguides projected onto the x-axis. Low losses can be obtained if the transition from the array to the free propagation region is adiabatic. Due to the finite resolution of lithographic process the gap between the waveguides will stop abruptly, however, when the waveguides come into too close together. Calculation results show that losses will occur at this discontinuity, which are dependent on the ratio of the gap between the waveguides and grating pitch and on the confinement of field in the array waveguides. Tapered waveguides and low index contrast between the core and cladding layers can lower the transmitted losses.

Vortices in (Abelian) Chern-Simons gauge theory

The vortex solutions of various classical planar field theories with (Abelian) Chern-Simons term are reviewed. Relativistic vortices, put forward by Paul and Khare, arise when the Abelian Higgs model is augmented with the Chern-Simons term. Adding a suitable sixth-order potential and turning off the Maxwell term provides us with pure Chern-Simons theory, with both topological and non-topological self-dual vortices, as found by Hong-Kim-Pac, and by Jackiw-Lee-Weinberg. The non-relativistic limit of the latter leads to non-topological Jackiw-Pi vortices with a pure fourth-order potential. Explicit solutions are found by solving the Liouville equation. The scalar matter field can be replaced by spinors, leading to fermionic vortices. Alternatively, topological vortices in external field are constructed in the phenomenological model proposed by Zhang-Hansson-Kivelson. Non-relativistic Maxwell-Chern-Simons vortices are also studied. The Schrodinger symmetry of Jackiw-Pi vortices, as well as the construction of some time-dependent vortices, can be explained by the conformal properties of non-relativistic space-time, derived in a Kaluza-Klein-type framework. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

BRST invariant theory of a generalized 1+1 Dimensional nonlinear sigma model with topological term

We give a generalized Lagrangian density of 1 + 1 Dimensional O( 3) nonlinear sigma model with subsidiary constraints, different Lagrange multiplier fields and topological term, find a lost intrinsic constraint condition, convert the subsidiary constraints into inner constraints in the nonlinear sigma model, give the example of not introducing the lost constraint. N = 0, by comparing the example with the case of introducing the lost constraint, we obtain that when not introducing the lost constraint, one has to obtain a lot of various non-intrinsic constraints. We further deduce the gauge generator, give general BRST transformation of the model under the general conditions. It is discovered that there exists a gauge parameter beta originating from the freedom degree of BRST transformation in a general O( 3) nonlinear sigma model, and we gain the general commutation relations of ghost field.