Observation of the transition of coherent/sequential electron tunneling in a resonant tunneling regime of a GaAs/AlAs three-terminal quantum-well heterostructure

Abstract

We observe the coherency of electron tunneling preserved up to the resonant peak voltage by measuring scattered electrons in a GaAlAs/GaAs three-terminal heterostructure. The abrupt increase of the scattered electron current, which onsets at the resonant peak voltage, indicates the breakdown of the coherency of electron tunneling. The experimental result indicates that the abrupt nature of the electron scattering in the resonant tunneling regime can be utilized in switching and logical devices.