Umklapp-assisted electron transport oscillations in metal superlattices

S. I. Kulinich, L. Y. Gorelik, S. A. Gredeskul, R. I. Shekhter, M. Jonson

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Abstract

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.

Original languageEnglish
Article number184202
Number of pages6
JournalPhysical Review B: Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
Volume85
Issue number18
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 May 2012

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