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Optically controlled resonant tunneling electronic devices

  • US 5,047,810 A
  • Filed: 01/09/1989
  • Issued: 09/10/1991
  • Est. Priority Date: 01/09/1989
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. An optoelectronic device having active and inactive states of operation, said active state corresponding to conduction by resonant tunneling of carriers, said optoelectronic device including at least one double barrier quantum well semiconductor heterostructure wherein said resonant tunneling occurs through both barriers of each said double barrier quantum well semiconductor heterostructure into and out of the lowest quasi-confined eigenstate of the quantum well, means for applying an electrical potential to said at least one double barrier quantum well semiconductor heterostructure, means for applying a signal to said at least one double barrier quantum well semiconductor heterostructure to control the state of operation of said optoelectronic device, said signal applying means including a source of an optical signal having a mean photon energy less than a bandgap energy of said at least one double barrier quantum well semiconductor heterostructure and sufficient to cause a desired shift δ

  • Eo for a quasi-confined eigenstate in a quantum well of the at least one double barrier quantum well semiconductor heterostructure, where the desired shift is, ##EQU3## where μ

    cv is an interband transition matrix element;

    ξ

    .sub.ν

    is an optical field at frequency ν

    ;

    E0 is an energy of said lowest quasi-confined eigenstate in the quantum well;



    is the mean photon energy of the optical signal;



    (r=0)|2 is the square of an envelope function of an exciton for r=0; and

    Ns is the saturation density.

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