Nanoelectronic, quantum, and high-field charge transport
Non-equilibrium quantum transport, resonant tunneling, full band carrier dynamics, and high field transport in nanoscale semiconductor devices.
When device dimensions approach an electron's de Broglie wavelength, coherent interference and non-equilibrium quantum phenomena become central to transport. Resonant tunneling devices provide a particularly useful platform for understanding how quantum states, charge accumulation, and external circuitry interact.
Full band hot electron transport
The group also works on high field transport at the level of the full electronic band structure. A 2019 study revisited a long standing assumption about how hot electrons in silicon transfer energy to the lattice and showed, using full band Monte Carlo calculations, that acoustic phonons can receive a much larger fraction of the electron energy than conventional simplified pictures suggest.
M. V. Fischetti, P. D. Yoder, M. M. Khatami, G. Gaddemane, and M. L. Van de Put, “Hot electrons in Si lose energy mostly to optical phonons: Truth or myth?,” Applied Physics Letters 114, 222104 (2019). DOI →
Intrinsic tristability in resonant tunneling diodes
Calculations by the group demonstrated that some resonant tunneling diodes possess an intrinsically continuous but multi-valued current–voltage relationship. Experimentally observed bistability and hysteresis can therefore reflect the interaction between an intrinsically tristable device and its external measurement circuit.
