Significant Enhancement of Carrier Mobility in Finite vs. Infinite Square Quantum Wells: A Comparative Study of GaAs/In$_x$Ga$_{1-x}$As/GaAs Heterostructures

Abstract

The geometry of quantum wells (QWs) critically influences carrier mobility, yet systematic comparisons between finite and infinite square QWs remain scarce. We present a comprehensive study of GaAs/In$_x$Ga$_{1-x}$As/GaAs heterostructures using a variational-subband-wave-function model, analyzing key scattering mechanisms: remote impurities (RI), alloy disorder (AD), surface roughness (SR), acoustic (ac) and piezoelectric (PE) phonons, and longitudinal optical (LO) phonons. The mobility ratio $R=\mu_{fin}/\mu_{inf}$ reveals distinct trends: $R_{RI}$ and $R_{LO}<$ 1 (long-range Coulomb/inelastic scattering), while $R_{AD}$, $R_{ac}$, $R_{PE}$, $R_{SR}>$ 1 (static potentials). Finite QWs achieve higher mobility at low temperatures (77 K), narrow widths ($<$ 100 \AA ), and low densities, enhanced by high indium content. Conversely, infinite QWs outperform at 300 K due to dominant LO scattering. These findings provide actionable guidelines for optimizing QW-based devices such as HEMTs and lasers across operational regimes.