Magnetic Field Dependence of Negative Differential Conductivity in Double Barrier Resonant Tunneling Diodes

We report experimental results of the magnetic field dependence of current-voltage (I-V) characteristics in AlAs/GaAs/AlAs resonant tunneling diodes. A better understanding of tunneling transport is established in the system. A transverse magnetic field applied in the plane of the tunneling barriers significantly changes the I-V characteristics and eliminates the peak to valley ratio. The behavior can be attributed to the electron momentum shift caused by the magnetic field during the traveling path from the emitter three-dimensional reservoir into quantum well. The magneto-oscillations in the tunneling current for magnetic paralleling with current are discussed in terms of a simple model of resonant tunneling.