Implantation enhanced interdiffusion in GaAs/GaAlAs quantum structures
A high-energy (up to 150 keV) Ga + focused ion beam is used to implant quantum well structures and interdiffuse GaAs/GaAlAs heterojunctions thus creating quantum wires and boxes. We investigate the o...
Sub-0.2-µm lithography by using a variable-shaped electron beam assisted by a focused ion beam process
Sub-0.2-µm lithography processes have been developed by using a variable-shaped electron beam (EB) assisted by a focused ion beam (FIB). This process has been applied to the mushroom-gate fabric...
73.20.Dx Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, and thin filmsSurface and interface electron statesElectron states in low-dimensional structures (including quantum wells, superlattices, layer structures, and intercalation compounds)
73.40.Kp Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, and thin filmsElectronic transport in interface structuresIIIV semiconductor-to-semiconductor contacts, (pn) junctions, and heterojunctions
Recently,there has been growing interest in exploring the limits toscaling of semiconductor devices, and in understanding their characteristics inthe regime where quantum effects and ballistic transport dominate. Usinghigh-resolution fabrication techniques on high-mobility, modulation-doped AlGaAs/GaAs, it is possibleto confine the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) to structures thatare smaller than both the inelastic and elastic scattering lengths,and are comparable in size to the electron wavelength. Theconduction of such a device should be one dimensional andballistic. Unlike large samples, the resistance of these ballistic devicesdoes not follow classical equations; it is primarily caused byelectron interference and scattering from the geometry of the sample,not by impurities. On this scale, these structures behave aselectron waveguides not as diffusive conductors. We have used electron-beamlithography and high-resolution reaction ion etching to produce samples withwell controlled, complicated geometries. These devices use either depletion froman etched surface, or the application of a gate voltageto electrostatically confine the 2DEG to a narrow conducting channel.Transport measurements exhibit electron interference effects, nonlocal resistance fluctuations, resistancethat does not scale with length, and quantization-of-resistance as afunction of width and carrier density. The experiments correspond wellto theoretical calculations of simple electron waveguides, and show thatin these one-dimensional ballistic devices, the measured resistance is primarilycaused by scattering from the structure of the sample itself.