Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: We investigate the effect of hypersonic ($>1$-GHz) acoustic phonon wave packets on electron transport in a semiconductor superlattice. Our quantum-mechanical simulations demonstrate that a gigahertz train of picosecond deformation-strain pulses propagating through a superlattice can generate current oscillations the frequency of which is many times higher than that of the strain pulse train, potentially reaching the terahertz regime. The shape and polarity of the calculated current pulses agree well with experimentally measured electric signals. The calculations also explain and accurately reproduce the measured variation of the induced-current-pulse magnitude with the strain-pulse amplitude and applied bias voltage. Our results open a route to developing acoustically driven semiconductor superlattices as sources of millimeter and submillimeter electromagnetic waves.
Source: Physical Review Applied
Authors: F. Wang, C.L. Poyser, M.T. Greenaway, A.V. Akimov, R.P. Campion, A.J. Kent, T.M. Fromhold, A.G. Balanov
Institutions: University of Nottingham, Loughborough University
Language: English
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3013120718