Atomically abrupt semiconductor heterointerfaces: their role in advanced electronic and photonic devices and quantum phenomena

Abstract

Atomically abrupt heterojunction interfaces have played a unique role in the emergence of a new generation of electronic and photonic devices. These include quantum-well lasers, low-noise superlattice avalanche photodiodes and solid-state photomultipliers, quantum-well infrared photodetectors, ultrahigh-speed heterojunction bipolar transistors and resonant-tunneling devices. The monolayer abruptness of heterojunction interfaces has also made possible the observation of exciting quantum phenomena including resonant tunneling, giant nonlinear susceptibilities associated with the quantum size effect and electron Bragg reflection phenomena. The latter have been observed in transport and in the creation of new bound states at energies in the classical continuum above potential wells. A brief discussion of recent work on tunable band discontinuities concludes this paper.