InAs sidewall tunnel diodes enabled by surface states

Hong, Sungjae; Muhowski, Aaron J.; Patel, Victor Jay; Anderson, Evan Michael; Lu, Tzu-Ming

doi:10.1063/5.0289403

InAs sidewall tunnel diodes enabled by surface states

Journal Article · Wed Oct 08 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · APL Electronic Devices

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0289403· OSTI ID:2999168

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Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Negative differential resistance (NDR), where the device current decreases with increasing bias voltage, is a representative phenomenon where quantum mechanics induces counterintuitive physical behavior and offers promising applications such as high-frequency oscillators, amplifiers, and multilevel logic circuits. While the NDR behavior has been extensively studied in various materials and devices, the role of surface properties in NDR, particularly in InAs-based diodes, remains underexplored. In this work, we report the observation of NDR in vertically structured InAs p⁺n diodes that exhibit a peak-valley current ratio of ∼6, which is suitably high for applications. Circumference-normalized current–voltage characterization revealed that the NDR originates from band-to-band tunneling between the valence band of p⁺-InAs and the conduction band of an n⁺-InAs surface, where the n⁺ surface is due to surface states on otherwise n⁻-InAs. In addition, by comparing devices with various surface passivation methods (without intentional passivation, benzocyclobutene polymer, and silicon nitride), we found that the surface termination significantly affects the NDR characteristics. We present an equivalent circuit model to explain the observed device behavior. These findings offer insights into surface-enabled NDR phenomena and present new knobs for engineering NDR devices.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities (SUF)

Grant/Contract Number:: NA0003525

OSTI ID:: 2999168

Report Number(s):: SAND--2025-12917J; 1781334

Journal Information:: APL Electronic Devices, Journal Name: APL Electronic Devices Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 1; ISSN 2995-8423

Publisher:: AIP PublishingCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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