Atomic layer epitaxy for resonant tunneling devices

Abstract

We report the first demonstration of an AlGaAs/GaAs resonant tunneling diode (RTD) grown by atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) which features room temperature negative differential resistance. The ALE growth is obtained in a rotating susceptor system with trimethylgallium, trimethylaluminum and arsine sources. Wafer mapping of the RTD properties indicates that monolayer thickness control can be achieved by this technique. In addition to vertical resonant tunneling, we also describe the application of ALE to realize lateral tunneling heterostructures and propose one such embodiment, a lateral heterojunction resonant tunneling transistor in a configuration offering room temperature operation.