Relaxation oscillation simulations and dilute magnetic semiconductor RTDs

A robust transient Wigner distribution function simulation procedure implemented for studying relaxation oscillations in resonant tunneling structures is applied to structures in which the barriers and/or quantum well is designed with dilute magnetic semiconductors (DMS). The function of the DMS layers is to provide a means, in the presence of an external magnetic field, to change the relative population of spin-up and spin-down carriers. This population dependence means that a magnetic field can control the current voltage peak-to-valley ratio and consequently the maximum frequency of self-excited oscillations. These simulations permit the exploration of design principles for DMS relaxation oscillators. In the present study they are used to explore the magnetic field dependence of the spin-up and spin-down charge distributions as a function of bias.