CURRENT FLOW PAST AN ETCHED BARRIER - FIELD-EMISSION FROM A 2-DIMENSIONAL ELECTRON-GAS

We find that, under appropriate conditions, electrons can pass a barri er etched across a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) by field emissi on from the GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction into a second, low-density 2DEG formed deep in the substrate. The current-voltage characteristics exh ibit a rapid increase in the current at the field emission threshold a nd intrinsic bistability above this threshold, consistent with a heati ng instability occurring in the second 2DEG. These results may explain similar behaviour recently seen in a number of front-gated devices by several groups.