Tunneling spectroscopy of resonant interband tunneling structures

Abstract

We report the first study of a resonant interband tunneling (RIT) structure using tunneling spectroscopy. Peaks in the tunneling spectra are shown to correspond to energies of acoustic phonons in the constituent materials of the RIT. We conclude that these phonons are involved in inelastic tunneling through the structure and could play a role in determining the overall form of the current-voltage characteristic.