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On the Theory of Photon‐Assisted Zener Tunneling
Author(s) -
Henneberger K.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
physica status solidi (b)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1521-3951
pISSN - 0370-1972
DOI - 10.1002/pssb.2220740216
Subject(s) - quantum tunnelling , condensed matter physics , photon , degenerate energy levels , physics , zener diode , conduction band , observable , valence (chemistry) , transition rate matrix , current (fluid) , photon energy , atomic physics , absorption (acoustics) , quantum mechanics , optics , voltage , electron , transistor , mathematics , statistics , thermodynamics
Zener tunneling assisted by one‐photon absorption is studied theoretically. A general expression for the transition rate is obtained and further evaluated for both a two‐band and a three‐band process, where analytical results are presented in terms of Airy functions. Furthermore, an interband current is produced by photon assisted tunneling which is shown to be proportional to the corresponding transition rate. It can be concluded from these results that photon assisted tunneling noticeably contributes to macroscopically observable quantities like electroabsorption and electric current, especially, if two nearly degenerate valence or conduction bands exist. In the latter case an interband current is produced flowing opposite to the field direction.