Self-Oscillations of the Current in Doped Semiconductor Superlattices

Abstract

Self-sustained current oscillations have been found in doped GaAs-AlAs superlattices and are investigated experimentally and theoretically. The electric-field distribution in doped superlattices becomes unstable if the carrier density is not sufficiently large to form stable domains. The instability results in self-oscillations of the current, which are due to an oscillatory motion of the domain boundary in the superlattice. A discrete drift model taking into account several regions of negative differential velocity and a large electron density clearly establishes the origin of these oscillations.