Enhanced current injection from a quantum well to a quantum dash in magnetic field

Abstract

Resonant tunneling injection is a key ingredient in achieving population inversion in a putative quantum dot cascade laser. In a quantum dot based structure, such resonant current requires a matching of the wavefunction shape in k-space between the injector and the quantum dot. We show experimentally that the injection into an excited state of a dash structure can be enhanced tenfold by an in-plane magnetic field that shifts the injector distribution in k-space. These experiments, performed on resonant tunneling diode structures, show unambiguously resonant tunneling into an ensemble of InAs dashes grown between two AlInAs barrier layers. They also show that interface roughness scattering can enhance the tunneling current.