Scattering effects on resonant tunneling in double-barrier heterostructures

Abstract

In this paper we use the transfer matrix approach to investigate the effect of scattering in the well on resonant tunneling in double-barrier heterostructures. We consider a double-barrier heterostructure, in which there is a uniform distribution of scattering centers throughout the well, and use the δ-type function to describe the perturbation potential of the centers. For simplicity, we only consider one dimension. From model calculations of the transmission probability of the system we find, in agreement with experimental observations, that resonant peaks arising from the quantized states in the well are always present, provided the concentration of the scattering centers is not too high. The effect of scattering is to lower the tunneling current and to shift and broaden the peak of the resonant tunneling spectrum.