Hierarchy of periodic orbits and associated energy level clusters in a quantum well in the regime of classical chaos
✍ Scribed by A. Fogarty; T.M. Fromhold; L. Eaves; F.W. Sheard; M. Henini; T.J. Foster; P.C. Main; G. Hill
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 1994
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 179 KB
- Volume
- 15
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0749-6036
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✦ Synopsis
We have used resonant tunnelling spectroscopy to investigate the energy level spectrum of a wide (60 \mathrm{~nm}) potential well with a strong magnetic field applied at an angle (\theta) to the normal to the barriers. In this geometry, the current-voltage characteristic (I(V)) reveal distinct series of resonances which change dramatically with both (V) and (\theta). In a classical picture, the electron orbits in the well are strongly chaotic for (15^{\circ} \leq \theta \leq 75^{\circ}) and voltages (V \leq 1.2 \mathrm{~V}). However, we have identified a hierarchy of unstable but periodic orbits whose calculated properties explain the origin and (\theta)-dependence of the resonant structure. We show that the classical motion becomes non-chaotic at high bias voltages and that the changeover to stable orbits is characterised by the appearance of widely-spaced resonances in (I(V)).