Resonant tunnelling in parabolic quantum well structures under a uniform transverse magnetic field

Abstract

The resonant tunnelling through parabolic quantum well structures under a uniform transverse magnetic field is investigated by a simple numerical method. Numerical results of the transmission coefficient are obtained for several GaAs–AlxGa1−xAs parabolic well structures. It is found that the resonant peaks shift towards the higher energy region as the magnetic field increases and some new resonant peaks emerge when the magnetic field becomes stronger. The J−V characteristics of a parabolic quantum well are discussed for the cyclotron centre located at different positions. It is also found that the cyclotron centre located at the parabolic well centre is helpful to explain the experiment and the peak current densities decrease and shift to higher bias with the increase of magnetic field. The influence of mixed crystal effect on the J−V characteristic under a uniform transverse magnetic field is also investigated.