EFFECT OF A STRONG ELECTRIC-FIELD ON THE PROPERTIES OF A NONEQUILIBRIUM, 2-DIMENSIONAL ELECTRON-GAS IN NONIDEAL HETEROSTRUCTURES

The physical processes which arise when a strong electric field is app lied to a sample with a two-dimensional electron gas and which result in quenching of the persistent photoconductivity are investigated. Thi s work prompted a study of the properties of the output current pulse corresponding to a square voltage pulse applied to the sample. It is f ound that the current pulse has a complex shape which depends on the s trength of the electric field E produced by the pulse. For large E sev eral series of V-shaped features with different scales are observed at the peak of the current pulse. A model is proposed to explain the obs erved experimental results in terms of the facts by the recombination of spatially separated nonequilibrium electrons and holes in the conta cts and interms of the formation of hole domains on the surface of the sample as a result of the presence of nonuniformities with different scales in the experimental In0.53Ga0.47As/InP heterostructures. (C) 19 96 American Institute of Physics.