Miniband transport in semiconductor superlattices in a quantized magnetic field.

Abstract

Miniband transport of electrons in GaAs-based superlattices under quantized magnetic fields normal to the layers is investigated based on nonparabolic balance equations recently developed. We calculate the drift velocity and electron temperature in both low and high electric fields considering impurity, acoustic, and polar-optic-phonon scatterings. As many as 25 Landau levels are included in the calculation of the frictional accelerations and electron-energy-loss rate. Strong oscillation of linear mobility and drastically different behavior of nonlinear drift velocity versus electric field are exhibited in superlattices with narrow miniband width when polar-optic-phonon scatterings are resonantly enhanced or forbidden due to Landau quantization. The results are in good qualitative agreement with recent experiments.