Dynamic instability in resonant tunneling - art. no. 201405

We show that a novel instability may be present in resonant tunneling throu gh a quantum well in one, two, and three dimensions, when the resonance lie s near the emitter Fermi level. A simple semiclassical model which simulate s the resonance and the projected density of states by a nonlinear conducto r, the Coulomb barrier by a capacitance, and the time evolution by an itera ted map, is used. The model reproduces the observed hysteresis in such devi ces, and exhibits a series of bifurcations leading to fast chaotic current fluctuations.