PLASMON ASSISTED RESONANT-TUNNELING IN A DOUBLE-BARRIER HETEROSTRUCTURE

When a double barrier semiconductor structure is biased near a tunneli ng resonance, charge can accumulate in the quantum well. Coupling betw een this two dimensional electron gas and the tunneling current is inv estigated. Experimental data taken inside a region of apparent bistabi lity in one device reveal a satellite on the high energy side of the c urrent resonance in the I(V) characteristic. A theoretical model based on the many-body transfer Hamiltonian formalism shows that a plasmon excitation has a remarkably similar structure. Magnetic field data sup port the plasmon satellite interpretation.