MICROSCOPIC MODEL FOR SEQUENTIAL TUNNELING IN SEMICONDUCTOR MULTIPLE-QUANTUM WELLS

We propose a self-consistent microscopic model of vertical sequential tunneling through multiple quantum wells. The model includes a detaile d description of the contacts, uses the transfer Hamiltonian for expre ssions of the current and it treats the Coulomb interaction within a m ean-field approximation. We analyze the current density through a doub le well and a superlattice and study the formation of electric-field d omains and multistability coming from the Coulomb interaction. Phase d iagrams of parameter regions (bias and doping in the heterostructure a nd in the contacts, etc....), where the different solutions exist, are given.