Dependence of Resonant Interband Tunneling Current on Barrier and Well Width in InAs/AlSb/GaSb/AlSb/InAs Double-Barrier Structures

Abstract

Dependence of the peak current densities (I p) on AlSb barrier and GaSb well widths (L b and L w) in InAs/AlSb/ GaSb/AlSb/InAs double-barrier resonant interband tunneling diodes was systematically investigated. We found that I p increases exponentially and reaches 7.5×104 A/cm2, which is the highest value ever reported, as L b decreases from 7 to 3 ML. We also found that I p increases monotonically as L w decreases from 46 to 10 ML. When L w is less than 10 ML, however, I p decreases with the decrease in L w and thus has a maximum value for L w of 10 ML. This behavior can be explained well in terms of one dominant resonance level. Agreement between the behaviors of the dominant resonance level and the calculated energy level for the ground state of light holes in the well indicates that I p is mainly dominated by interband tunneling through the ground state of light holes.