Demonstration of large peak-to-valley current ratios in InAs/AlGaSb/InAs single-barrier heterostructures

We report large peak-to-valley current ratios in InAs/AlxGa1−xSb/InAs single-barrier tunnel structures. The mechanism for single-barrier negative differential resistance (NDR) has been proposed and demonstrated recently. A peak-to-valley current ratio of 3.4 (1.2) at 77 K (295 K), which is substantially larger than what has been previously reported, was observed in a 200-Å-thick Al0.42Ga0.58Sb barrier. A comparison with a calculated current-voltage curve yields good agreement in terms of peak current and the slope of the NDR region. The single-barrier structure is a candidate for high-speed devices because of expected short tunneling times and a wide NDR region.