Ballistic transport in GaN/AlGaN resonant tunneling diodes

Abstract

In this work we theoretically study the vertical transport in GaN/AlGaN resonant tunneling diodes in the ballistic regime. Heterostructures based on III-nitride compounds are characterized by a large conduction band discontinuity and a presence of an internal electric field, both of which have important effects on the electronic transport. Using the transfer matrix formalism, we investigate the effect of the energetic barrier height on the resonant current. Our calculations show an increase in the peak to valley ratio (PVR) with increasing Al content of the barriers which arises from the large decrease in the valley current. Furthermore, we show that the current resonances are different for positive and negative applied voltages. We also demonstrate that, due to the asymmetry of the conduction band profile, only one current direction leads to a significant PVR. Finally, we present an approach to achieve large PVR in both current directions by reducing the asymmetry induced by the internal field.