New hole negative differential resistance strained-layer device

A new negative differential resistance device making use of hole transport was developed and studied theoretically. The device consists of an InGaAs strained-layer quantum well, an AlGaAs barrier and a GaAs quantum well. The real space transfer phenomenon occurs in the GaAs and InGaAs quantum wells. For heterolayer transport, the distribution function which is calculated from the wavefunction of the hole can be used to describe the transport phenomena of the particles. The current of the device is controlled by the distribution function. The peak-to-valley current ratio is determined by the ratio of the effective masses of holes in the normal and strained quantum wells and the hole transmission coefficient.