Resonant tunneling injection of electrons through double stacked GaAs/InAs quantum dots with nanohole electrode

Abstract

Resonant tunneling diodes containing closely double-stacked InAs quantum dots (QDs) were grown on GaAs substrates by MBE. After growing a thin GaAs capping layer on the double-stacked InAs QDs, nanoholes were selectively formed just above the larger second QDs by thermal annealing. The Au thin film was deposited directly on top surface of the larger second QDs through the nanoholes. The second QDs contacted with Au film served as conducting dots, which can locally inject electrons into the underlying first QDs. In current versus voltage (I–V) measurements, (dI/dV) peaks were clearly observed in the forward bias voltage region. It was due to the tunneling current through a non-doped GaAs thin layer between double-stacked QDs and n-GaAs conduction band. The (dI/dV) peaks shifted toward the lower forward voltage region with increasing temperature. It was explained by the temperature dependence of the electron energy distribution in the GaAs conduction band.