Simulational studies of epitaxial semiconductor superlattices: Quantum dynamical phenomena in ac and dc electric fields

Abstract

Using high-accuracy numerical methods the author investigates the dynamics of independent electrons in both ideal and realistic superlattices subject to arbitrary ac and/or dc electric fields. For a variety of superlattice potentials, optically excited initial wave packets, and combinations of ac and dc electric fields, he numerically solves the time-dependent Schroedinger equation. In the case of ideal periodic superlattice potentials, he investigates a long list of dynamical phenomena involving multiple miniband transitions and time-dependent electric fields. These include acceleration effects associated with interminiband transitions in strong fields, Zener resonances between minibands, dynamic localization with ac fields, increased single-miniband transport with an auxiliary resonant ac field, and enhanced or suppressed interminiband probability exchange using an auxiliary ac field. For all of the cases studied, the resulting time-dependent wave function is analyzed by projecting the data onto convenient orthonormal bases. This allows a detailed comparison with approximately analytic treatments. In an effort to explain the rapid decay of experimentally measured Bloch oscillation (BO) signals the author incorporates a one-dimensional representation of interface roughness (IR) into their superlattice potential. He shows that as a result of IR, the electron dynamics can be characterized in terms of many discrete, incommensurate frequencies near the Block frequency. Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5 have been removed from this report and will be processed separately.