Resonant carrier dynamics in strongly biased superlattices

Abstract

We study coherent electron dynamics in a biased undriven ideal semiconductorsuperlattice coupled to the continuum, near energy level anticrossings. In particular, weexamine the dependence of wavepacket dynamical characteristics on electric fielddetuning, and investigate mixed regimes involving a superposition of energy levelanticrossings showing both Rabi oscillations and resonant tunnelling. In earlierwork (Abumov and Sprung 2007 Phys. Rev. B 75 165421), Rabi and Zener resonances wereshown to have a common origin, and a criterion for the occurrence of either wasproposed. The present results allow a better understanding of the nature of aninterminiband resonance, which can be useful in the areas of microwave radiationgeneration and matter manipulation on the particle level, as well as demonstrating analternative approach to examining electron level structure of a finite superlattice.