Abstract
Electron tunneling through the GaN/Ga1−x AlxN(0001) wurtzite strained structures is investigated by the pseudopotential and scattering matrix methods. It is shown that the results of multiband calculations at low aluminum concentrations (x<0.3) are adequately described within the single-valley model in the envelope wave function method accounting for the dependences of the effective mass on the energy and strain. Upon electron tunneling through two-barrier structures, sharp resonance peaks are observed at a barrier thickness of several monolayers and the characteristic collision time in the resonance region is equal to ∼1 ps. The internal electric fields associated with spontaneous and piezoelectric polarizations lead to a “red” or “blue” shift in the resonance energy according to the thickness and location of barriers with respect to the polar axis. In the (GaN)n(Ga1−x AlxN)m superlattices, the internal fields can form the Stark ladder of electronic states at a small number of ultrathin layers even in the absence of external fields.
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Translated from Fizika Tverdogo Tela, Vol. 43, No. 3, 2001, pp. 529–535.
Original Russian Text Copyright © 2001 by Grinyaev, Razzhuvalov.
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Grinyaev, S.N., Razzhuvalov, A.N. Resonant electron tunneling in GaN/Ga1−x AlxN(0001) strained structures with spontaneous polarization and piezoeffect. Phys. Solid State 43, 549–555 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1134/1.1356136
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/1.1356136