The Effect of Non-Equilibrium Acoustic Phonons on the Tunnel Current in GaAs/AlAs Superlattices

Authors: S. A. CAVILL, F. F. OUALI, L. J. CHALLIS, A. J. KENT, M. HENINI, A. V. AKIMOV

Abstract: We present the first study of the effect of ballistic acoustic phonons generated by a heated metal film on the tunnel current in GaAs/AlAs superlattices. The phonon-induced increase of the tunnel current as a function of applied voltage has a maximum at a voltage that varies linearly with heater temperature both in zero and applied magnetic field. The behaviour is consistent with phonon-assisted tunnelling by stimulated phonon emission. The system acts as a phonon spectrometer in the < 1THz frequency region with a resolution of approximately 200 GHz.

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