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Current-voltage characteristics of double-quantum-well (DQW) resonant interband tunnel (RIT) heterojunction InGaAlAs diodes with well widths of 20, 30, 40, and 60 AA were experimentally investigated at room temperature and compared. Peak current density exhibits a maximum at the 40-AA well width, which is an order of magnitude greater than the peak current densities of other well widths. The calculation of the positions of electronic states leads to the following simple explanation: there are no bound states in the 20- and 30-AA wells. In the 40-AA well, one electronic state appears near the top of the well. This state, which coincides with the Fermi level, is responsible for resonant transmission. In the 60-AA well, the only electronic state is too deep and too far from the Fermi level for resonance to occur.>
Macdonald et al. (1992) studied this question.