Measuring the energetic distribution of ballistic electrons after their refraction at an Au–GaAs interface

Abstract

In this work, ballistic electron emission microscopy/spectroscopy on biased GaAs–AlAs double-barrier resonant tunneling structures is used to study the energetic distribution of ballistic electrons transmitted through an Au–GaAs interface. Measuring the ballistic current as a function of collector bias, we observe a surprisingly broad energetic distribution of ballistic electrons in the GaAs. This observation can be explained by electron “refraction” effects at the Au–GaAs interface and the influence of inelastic scattering in the drift region of the sample.