CHARACTERIZATION OF RESONANT-TUNNELING PATHS IN CURRENT-VOLTAGE CHARACTERISTICS LINE-SHAPES

We analyze the current density-voltage characteristics of double-barri er tunneling diodes, with different spacer layers, within the framewor k of a Poisson solver together with a coherent tunneling approximation for transmission probabilities. We show that varying the spacer layer thickness, together with barrier heights, changes dramatically the cu rrent density-voltage characteristics line shape, which is revealed to be an important qualitative signature of the tunneling paths involved in the double-barrier diodes under operation. (C) 1995 American Insti tute of Physics.