Spontaneous current generation in gated nanostructures

TL;DR

This paper reports the observation of a spontaneous dc current in a gated GaAs transistor, driven by hot electron injection and phonon-mediated excitation of impurities, revealing a novel current generation mechanism.

Contribution

It introduces a new understanding of current generation in nanostructures through hot electron and phonon interactions, with experimental evidence in GaAs transistors.

Findings

Spontaneous dc current depends on gate voltage.

Current magnitude and direction vary with gate bias.

Proposed mechanism involves hot electrons and phonon excitation.

Abstract

We have observed an unusual dc current spontaneously generated in the conducting channel of a short-gated GaAs transistor. The magnitude and direction of this current critically depend upon the voltage applied to the gate. We propose that it is initiated by the injection of hot electrons from the gate that relax via phonon emission. The phonons then excite secondary electrons from asymmetrically distributed impurities in the channel, which leads to the observed current.