Shot noise in resonant tunneling structures

TL;DR

This paper introduces a quantum mechanical model for shot noise in resonant tunneling structures applicable across all transport regimes, explaining experimental data and predicting new phenomena related to noise reduction mechanisms.

Contribution

It presents a unified approach to shot noise analysis in resonant tunneling devices, incorporating both coherent and incoherent transport effects with a phenomenological relaxation time.

Findings

Shot noise reduction due to Pauli exclusion and Coulomb repulsion.

The model explains experimental noise measurements.

Predictions of noise behavior at various operating conditions.

Abstract

We propose a quantum mechanical approach to noise in resonant tunneling structures, that can be applied in the whole range of transport regimes, from completely coherent to completely incoherent. In both limiting cases, well known results which have appeared in the literature are recovered. Shot noise reduction due to both Pauli exclusion and Coulomb repulsion, and their combined effect, are studied as a function of the rate of incoherent processes in the well (which are taken into account by means of a phenomenological relaxation time), and of temperature. Our approach allows the study of noise in a variety of operating conditions (i.e., equilibrium, sub-peak voltages, second resonance voltages), and as a function of temperature, explaining experimental results and predicting interesting new results.