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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/N22137/01
Title: THE SUPPRESSION OF MINIBAND CONDUCTION SEMICONDUCTOR SUPERLATTICES WITH AN APPLIED MAGNETIC FIELD
Principal Investigator: Fromhold, Professor TM
Other Investigators:
Sheard, Professor F
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: Sch of Physics & Astronomy
Organisation: University of Nottingham
Scheme: Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts: 23 May 2000 Ends: 22 August 2000 Value (£): 3,000
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Condensed Matter Physics
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
The proposal is to investigate electron transport in semiconductor superlattices in a high magnetic field. Recent experiments in Nottingham have shown that the conduction of electrons in a superlattice miniband is strongly suppressed when a magnetic field > 2 T is applied parallel to the superlattice axis. This result has attracted considerable international interest but is not yet well understood. Previous theoretical analysis has considered infinite superlattices, and does not consider how the electrons are injected into the miniband of a finite superlattice from the doped contact layers. Our preliminary calculations have modelled the process of electron injection by quantum tunnelling from the contact layers into the minibands. This work suggests that the effect of the magnetic field on the tunnelling process could explain the observed suppression of miniband conduction. This initial work is currently supported by the Royal Society who are funding a 9-month visit to Nottingham by Prof Krokhin. This application for a 3-month extension to the visit will enable us to make detailed numerical calculations of the current-voltage characteristics of the superlattices and provide a clear physical explanation for the suppression of miniband conduction. We will also start to investigate how the current changes when a tilted magnetic field is used to induce chaotic semiclassical paths.
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Organisation Website: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk