High-field transport in an InGaAs-InP superlattice grown by chemical beam epitaxy

We report the observation of high-field-domain formation in the transport through an In0.53Ga0.47As-InP superlattice. The current-voltage characteristics show two series of sharp negative differential resistances which are due to tunneling from the 1 to 2 and from the 1 to 3 subbands, respectively. Within each series the negative differential resistances occur at nearly equal intervals in the bias voltage. For the first series, the period in the bias voltage increases as the sample is cooled from 77 to 4.2 K. In contrast, the period for the second series remains constant within the same temperature range. We explain these observations by the effect of phonon scattering on the various subbands.