Current response of a superlattice irradiated with nonequilibrium phonons

We studied a biased superlattice and revealed a considerable current respon se to irradiation by nonequilibrium acoustic phonons with an effective temp erature on the order of a few Kelvins. We discuss two phonon source-superla ttice configurations, for which the current response is caused by either in terwell or intrawell electron transitions. We have shown that the response is sensitive to both direction and spectral distribution of phonons. The re sults explain recent experiments on the phonon-induced current response and prove that the superlattices can be used for the characterization of a hig h-frequency phonon flux. (C) 2000 MAIK "Nauka/Interperiodica".