Onset voltage shift due to non-zero Landau ground state level in coherent magnetotransport

Abstract

Coherent electron transport in double-barrier heterostructures with parallel electric and magnetic fields is analyzed theoretically and with the aid of a quantum simulator accounting for 3-dimensional transport effects. The onset-voltage shift induced by the magnetic field in resonant tunneling diodes, which was previously attributed to the cyclotron frequency $w_c$ inside the well is found to arise from an upward shift of the non-zero ground (lowest) Landau state energy in the entire quantum region where coherent transport takes place. The spatial dependence of the cyclotron frequency is accounted for and verified to have a negligible impact on resonant tunneling for the device and magnetic field strength considered. A correction term for the onset-voltage shift arising from the magnetic field dependence of the chemical potential is also derived. The Landau ground state with its nonvanishing finite harmonic oscillator energy $ \hbar w_c /2$ is verified however to be the principal contributor to the onset voltage shift at low temperatures.