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.

OPTICAL PHONON MODES IN QUANTUM WIRES

Based on numerical results, the characteristics of each type of optical phonon mode in one-dimensional (1D) quantum wires are illustrated. The analytical formulae for 1D bulk-like optical displacements and associated electrostatic potentials are presented. Compared with the two-dimensional (2D) case, both the optical displacements and Frohlich potentials for the bulk-like modes vanish at the interfaces, but the finite dispersion of bulk phonons has a more pronounced effect on the 1D phonon modes.

QUANTUM WAVE-GUIDE THEORY FOR MESOSCOPIC STRUCTURES

A one-dimensional quantum waveguide theory for mesoscopic structures is proposed, and the boundary conditions of the wave functions at an intersection are given. The Aharonov-Bohm effect is quantitatively discussed with use of this theory, and the reflection, transmission amplitudes, etc., are given as functions of the magnetic flux, the arm lengths, and the wave vector. It is found that the oscillating current consists of a significant component of the second harmonic. This theory is also applied to investigate quantum-interference devices. The results on the Aharonov-Bohm effect and the quantum-interference devices are found to be in agreement with previous theoretical results.

ELECTRONIC-STRUCTURES OF QUANTUM WIRES FORMED BY LATERAL STRAIN

The electronic structures of quantum wires formed by lateral strain are studied in the framework of the effective-mass envelope-function method. The hole energy levels, wave functions, and optical transition matrix elements are calculated for the real quantum-wire structure, and the results are compared with experiment. It is found that one-dimensional confinement effects exist for both electronic and hole states related to the n (001) = 1 state. The lateral strained confinement causes luminescence-peak redshifts and polarization anisotropy, and the anisotropy is more noticeable than that in the unstrained case. The variation of hole energy levels with well widths in the [110] and [001] directions and wave vector along the [110BAR] direction are also obtained.

Structures of energy spectrum and persistent currents in mesoscopic rings with radial potential barrier in magnetic field

The energy spectrum and the persistent currents are calculated for finite-width mesoscopic annular structures with radial potential barrier in the presence of a magnetic field. The introduction of the tunneling barrier leads to the creation of extra edge states around the barrier and the occurrence of oscillatory structures superimposed on the bulk Landau level plateaus in the energy spectrum. We found that the Fermi energy E-F increases with the number of electrons N emerging many kinks. The single eigenstate persistent current exhibits complicated structures with vortex-like texture, ''bifurcation'', and multiple ''furcation'' patterns as N is increased. The total currents versus N display wild fluctuations.

Quantum dot superlattices and their conductance

The one-dimensional energy bands and corresponding conductivities of a T-shaped quantum-dot superlattice are studied in various cases: different periods, with potential barriers between dots, and in transverse electric fields. It is found that the conductivity of the superlattices has a similar energy relation to the conductance of a single quantum dot, but vanishes in the energy gap region. The energy band of a superlattice with periodically modulated conducting width in the perpendicular magnetic field is calculated for comparison with magneto-transport experiments. It is found that due to the edge state effect the electron has strong quantum transport features. The energy gaps change with the width of the channel, corresponding to the deep peaks in the conductance curve. This method of calculating the energy bands of quantum-dot superlattices is applicable to complex geometric structures without substantial difficulty. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.