CHAOTIC DYNAMICS OF BALLISTIC ELECTRONS IN LATERAL SUPERLATTICES AND MAGNETIC-FIELDS

We study the classical dynamics of a ballistic charged particle in a two-dimensional (2D) periodic potential and an applied magnetic field. We find chaotic behavor, in particular in the form of normal diffusion and anomalous diffusion associated with 1/f noise. The mechanisms for the onset of 1D diffusion and 2D diffusion are explained in terms of homoclinic intersections and Kolmogorov-Arnol d-Moser theory. The model may be used as a classical approximation for ballistic-electron dynamics in lateral superlattices on semiconductor heterojunctions. © 1990 The American Physical Society.