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Absolute Negative Conductivity and Spontaneous Current Generation in Semiconductor Superlattices with Hot Electrons

Ethan H. Cannon·Feodor V. Kusmartsev·Kirill N. Alekseev·David K. Campbell
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Abstract

We study electron transport through a semiconductor superlattice subject to an electric field parallel to and a magnetic field perpendicular to the growth axis. Using a single miniband, semiclassical balance equation model with both elastic and inelastic scattering, we find that (1) the current-voltage characteristic becomes multistable in a large magnetic field; and (2) ``hot'' electrons display novel features in their current-voltage characteristics, including absolute negative conductivity (ANC) and, for sufficiently strong magnetic fields, a spontaneous dc current at zero bias. We discuss possible experimental situations providing the necessary hot electrons to observe the predicted ANC and spontaneous dc current generation.

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Ethan H. Cannon, Feodor V. Kusmartsev, Kirill N. Alekseev, David K. Campbell. 1999-10-04. Absolute Negative Conductivity and Spontaneous Current Generation in Semiconductor Superlattices with Hot Electrons. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.85.1302

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