Umklapp-assisted electron transport oscillations in metal superlattices

• We consider a superlattice of parallel metal tunnel junctions with a spatially nonhomogeneous probability for electrons to tunnel. In such structures tunneling can be accompanied by electron scattering that conserves energy but not momentum. In the special case of a tunneling probability that varies periodically with period a in the longitudinal direction, i.e., perpendicular to the junctions, electron tunneling is accompanied by umklapp scattering, where the longitudinal momentum changes by a multiple of h/a. We predict that as a result a sequence of metal-insulator transitions can be induced by an external electric or magnetic field as the field strength is increased.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Annan teknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Other Engineering and Technologies (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)