Tunneling transport

Courtesy Prof. S. Sawyer, RPI

Also Davies Ch. 5
Electron transport properties

le: electronic mean free path

lφ: phase coherence length
λF: Fermi wavelength
 Lecture Outline
• Important Concepts for Resonant Tunneling
Diodes (RTDs)
• RTD Physics and Phenomena
• RTD Equations and Parameters
• RTDs vs. Tunnel Diodes
– Advantages and Disadvantages of RTDs
• Applications
• Summary
 RTD Concepts: Why Tunneling
Devices?
• Advantage of this quantum
effect device
– Works at room temperature
– High switching speed
– Low power consumption
• Differing operating principles
– Quantization
– Quantum tunneling
– Negative Differential Resistance
(NDR) http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~cs4211/projects/
presentations/james-pp.ppt#266,9,Resonant
Tunnelling Diodes
 RTD Concepts: Tunneling
• Tunneling
– Quantum mechanical
phenomenon
• Calculate tunneling
probability with
Schrödinger’s equation
• Complex barrier shapes
– Requires finite barrier
height and thin barrier
width
 RTD Concepts: Tunneling
• Tunneling
– Majority carrier effect
– Not governed by
conventional time transit
concept
W


– Governed by quantum
transition probability per <k(0)> is the average value of
unit time proportional to momentum encountered in
exp[-2<k(0)>W] the tunneling path…..
Tunneling transport: single barrier

IL

Davies Ch. 5
Current in one-dimension

dk
I L  2e  f [ (k ),  L ]v(k )T (k )
UL
2
dk 1
dk  d  d
d v

d
I L  2e  f [ (k ),  L ]v(k )T (k )
UL
hv

2e
 
h UL
f [ (k ),  L ]T (k )d

T(k): transmission coefficient

Total current in one-dimension

2e
IL  
h UL
f [ ,  L ]T ( )d


2e
IR   
h UR
f [ ,  R ]T ( )d


2e
I  IL  IR  
h UL
[ f ( ,  L )  f ( ,  R )]T ( )d
 Low bias limit

2e
I  IL  IR  
h UL
[ f ( ,  L )  f ( ,  R )]T ( )d

f ( ,  ) f ( ,  )
f ( ,  L )  f ( ,  R )  eV  eV
 

2e 2V f
I
h 
UL

T ( )d

G  I /V : conductance

2e 2 f
G   T ( )d
h U L 
f
   (   ) at low temperatures

2e 2
G T ( )
h
 Tunneling probability
• To determine tunneling probability
2
d  2 m*
  ( E  U( x) )  0
2 2
dx

• Wavefunction for simple rectangular barrier

height of U0 and width W is
2m*   E  U 0
ψ =exp(±ikx) where k

 Tunneling probability
• Solution to tunneling probability
1
 B     2 m*  U 0  E 
2 2 2
 U  sinh  ( k  W )  16 E U 0  E
16 
W 
0
Tt 1  exp 2
 4 E U 0  E  ~ 2  2

 A
2  
   U0

• Using WKB for other barrier shapes where

  
wavefunction is  ( x) exp 


 ik( x) d x


 x 2 
 B
2
Tt

exp 2  2 m*
 ( U( x)  E) d x

  
  A 2  x  2

 1 
Transmission coefficient for single barrier

Potential barrier of 0.3 eV and thickness of a = 10 nm in GaAs

Current in 2 and 3 dimensions
 k ,k  exp(ik  r )uk ( z )
z z
:wave function
2
 2k 2  2kz
 (k , k z )  U L   :energy
2m 2m

dk z d 2k
I L  e vz (k z )T (k z )[2  f ( (k , k z ),  L )]
0
2 (2 ) 2

mk BT
n2 D (  )  ln(1  exp(  / k BT )) n2D
 2

2
 2kz
  L U L 
2m

e
I L   n2 D (  L  E )T ( E )dE
h UL
Total resonant tunneling current
 2 k z2
E  UL 
2m

e
J L   n2 D (  L  E )T ( E )dE
h UL

e
J   [n2 D (  L  E )  n2 D (  R  E )]T ( E )dE
h UL
Large bias and low temperature limit
L
e m
2 
J (  L  E )T ( E )dE
h  U L
Tunneling vs. Resonant Tunneling
Tunneling vs. Resonant Tunneling

http://w3.ualg.pt/~jlongras/OIC-NDRd.pdf
 RTD concepts
• RTD consists of
– Emitter region: source
of electrons T(E)
– Double barrier structure:
inside is the quantum
well, with discrete
energy levels
– Collector region: collect
electrons tunneling
through the barrier T(C)
 RTD concepts
• Double barriers formed
• Quantum well quantizes
energy
2 2
h n
En E Cw
2
8 m*  W

– Assumes infinite barrier

height
• Actual barrier height (ΔEc)
~0.2-0.5eV giving
quantized levels of ~0.1eV
A bound state vs. a resonant state
 RTD concepts
• Carriers tunnel from one
electrode to the other via
energy states within the
well
• Wavefunctions of
Schrodinger equation must
be solved for emitter, well,
and collector
• Tunneling probability
exhibits peaks where the
energy of the incoming
particle coincides with
quantized levels
Profile through a three-dimensional
resonant tunneling diode

L

Profile through a three-dimensional resonant-tunnelling diode. The bias increases

from (a) to (d), giving rise to the I(V) characteristic shown in (e). The shaded areas on
the left and right are the Fermi seas of electrons.
 Resonant Tunneling Diode

(c)

Negative
Differential
Resistance

Animation courtesy of the group of Prof. G Klimeck

and the NanoHub
 RTD Concepts: NDR
• Negative Differential
Resistance
dV
r 
dI

• DC biasing in the NDR

region can be used for
– Oscillation
– Amplification
– High speed switching http://www.answers.com/topic/gunn-diode?cat=technology
Transmission coefficient for
resonant tunneling
T pk 4TLTR
T (E)  Tpk 
E  E pk (TL  TR ) 2
1 ( )2
/2
v
 (TL  TR )
2a
If TL=TR

T ( E pk )  1
Transmission coefficient of a
resonant-tunneling structure
 RTD parameters
• Probability of tunneling when electron energy
does not align with quantized state
T ( E) T L T R

• Probability of tunneling when electron energy

does align with quantized state
4 T L T R

T E En 
T L  T R2

• Resonant tunneling current is given by

q  kT m*   EF  E
NE  ln  1  exp  
J   N( E) T( E) d E  2   kT 
2   
Characteristics of real resonant
tunneling diodes
RTD Research (2010)
AlGaN/GaN resonant tunneling diodes

4×4 6×6

30×30 8×8

Devices: 4 × 4 to 30 × 30 µm2
Structure:
 low Al-composition (18%) barriers
 RMS roughness of 8 Å

D. Li et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 252105 (2012).

 RTDs vs. Tunnel Diodes
• Tunnel Diodes were
discovered by Esaki in
1958
– Studied heavily
(degenerately) doped
germanium p-n
junctions
– Depletion layer width is
narrow
– Found NDR over part of
forward characteristics
 RTDs vs. Tunnel Diodes
• (a) Fermi level is constant across
the junction
– Net tunneling current zero applied
voltage is zero
– Voltage applied: tunneling occurs
• Under what conditions?
• (b) Maximum tunneling current
• (c) Tunneling current ceases
– No filled states opposite of
unoccupied states
• (d) Normal diffusion and excess High doping
current dominates
Large capacitance
Difficult device growth
 RTDs vs. Tunnel Diodes
• Tunneling Probability for
tunnel diodes (triangular
barrier)
 3 
 * 2

 4 2 m  E g 
T t exp  
 3 q     

• Both effective mass and

bandgap should be small
• Electric field should be large
 RTDs vs. Tunnel Diodes
• Comparison of typical current
voltage characteristics
• Ip/Iv ratios
– 8:1 for Ge
– 12:1 GaSb
– 28:1 for GaAs
– 4:1 for Si
• Limitation on ratio
– Peak current (doping, effective
tunneling mass, bandgap)
– Valley current (distribution of energy
levels in forbidden gap (defect
densities)
 RTDs vs. Tunnel Diodes
• Advantages of RTDs
– Not transit time limited
• No minority carrier charge storage
• Maximum operational oscillation projected in the THz range (at
room temperature)
• Better leakage current (can be used as a rectifier)
– Lower doping than p-n (reduced capacitance)
– Easier to fabricate and design than tunnel diodes
– Multiple NDR peaks (multivalue logic and memory)
• Disadvantages of RTDs
– Does not supply enough current for high power oscillations
 Applications
• Nine-State Resonant
Tunneling Diode
Memory
– Eight double barriers
Al/In0.53Ga0.47As/InAs
grown by MBE

A.C. Seabaugh et al., IEEE Electron Dev. Lett., EDL-13, 479, (1992)
 Applications
• High frequency, low
power dissipation
– Trigger circuits
• AlAs/GaAs RTDs 110 GHz
– Pulse Generator
• 1.7 ps switching transition
times with InAs/AlSb RTDs
– Oscillators
• 712 GHz with InAs/Alsb
T.C. Sollner, GaAs IC Symposium, 15, (1990)
• Two paths to THz
– Light/optics
(photonics)
– Radio/microwave
(electronics)
Emerging technologies
 Why Resonant Tunnelling
Devices?
• Works at room temperature!
• Extremely high switching speed (THz)
• Low power consumption
• Well demonstrated uses
– Logic gates, fast adders, ADC etc.
• Can be integrated on existing processes
• In one word: Feasible
 Summary
• Tunneling and negative differential resistance are key
characteristics of RTDs
• These devices are used for amplification, oscillation, and
high speed switching
• RTDs are not transit time limited (no minority carrier storage
charge)
• Tunneling occurs when incoming energy of electrons
coincide with quantized states in quantum wells (resonance)
• Diminished current due to lack of available electrons in line
with quantized states causes NDR
• Thermionic emission dominates in the valley