Monte Carlo Investigation of High-Field Electron Transport Characteristics in ZnMgO/ZnO Heterostructures

Abstract

The high-field electron transport properties of ZnMgO/ZnO heterostructures considering multisubband conduction were systematically investigated with an ensemble Monte Carlo program developed by us. Electronic band structures were obtained by first-principles calculations using density functional theory, which provides more accurate parameters to calculate the electronic states and transport characteristics of 2-D electron gas. Wave functions and energy levels describing the subband structure were achieved to determine the 2-D scattering rates by solving the Schrodinger and Poisson equations self-consistently. The highest electron mobility gained at room temperature was approximately $4.23\times 10^{\mathrm {2}}$ cm2/Vs. The negative differential mobility was observed with a threshold electric field of approximately 80 kV/cm. The peak drift velocity of the Zn0.694Mg0.306O/ZnO heterostructure at 200 KV was about $2.011\times 10^{8}$ cm/s. This paper benefits the development of high-performance ZnMgO/ZnO heterostructure devices.