Dynamical Instabilities and Deterministic Chaos in Ballistic Electron Motion in Semiconductor Superlattices

TL;DR

This paper investigates how ballistic electrons in semiconductor superlattices can exhibit chaotic behavior due to their interaction with self-generated electromagnetic fields, highlighting conditions for experimental observation.

Contribution

It demonstrates the transition from regular to chaotic electron dynamics in superlattices caused by self-consistent electromagnetic interactions, a novel insight into electron behavior in these systems.

Findings

Chaotic electron motion can occur under certain conditions.

Interaction with self-generated fields induces chaos.

Conditions for experimental detection are estimated.

Abstract

We consider the motion of ballistic electrons within a superlattice miniband under the influence of an alternating electric field. We show that the interaction of electrons with the self-consistent electromagnetic field generated by the electron current may lead to the transition from regular to chaotic dynamics. We estimate the conditions for the experimental observation of this deterministic chaos and discuss the similarities of the superlattice system with the other condensed matter and quantum optical systems.