Tuning the tunneling probability between low-dimensional electron systems by momentum matching

Journal Article · Mon Jun 15 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4922738· OSTI ID:22483071

Zhou, Daming; Beckel, Andreas; Geller, Martin; Lorke, Axel ^[1]; Ludwig, Arne; Wieck, Andreas D. ^[2]

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1. Fakultät für Physik and CENIDE, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Lotharstraße 1, 47048 Duisburg (Germany)
2. Lehrstuhl für Angewandte Festkörperphysik, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, 44780 Bochum (Germany)

We demonstrate the possibility to tune the tunneling probability between an array of self- assembled quantum dots and a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) by changing the energy imbalance between the dot states and the 2DEG. Contrary to the expectation from Fowler-Nordheim tunneling, the tunneling rate decreases with increasing injection energy. This can be explained by an increasing momentum mismatch between the dot states and the Fermi-circle in the 2DEG. Our findings demonstrate momentum matching as a useful mechanism (in addition to energy conservation, density of states, and transmission probability) to electrically control the charge transfer between quantum dots and an electron reservoir.

• OSTI ID: 22483071
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 106, Issue 24; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
DENSITY OF STATES
ELECTRON GAS
ELECTRONS
ENERGY CONSERVATION
PROBABILITY
QUANTUM DOTS
TUNNEL EFFECT
TWO-DIMENSIONAL SYSTEMS