Resonant Zener tunnelling via zero-dimensional states in a narrow gap diode

Interband tunnelling of carriers through a forbidden energy gap, known as Zener tunnelling, is a phenomenon of fundamental and technological interest. Its experimental observation in the Esaki p-n semiconductor diode has led to the first demonstration and exploitation of quantum tunnelling in a condensed matter system. Here we demonstrate a new type of Zener tunnelling that involves the resonant transmission of electrons through zero-dimensional (0D) states. In our devices, a narrow quantum well of the mid-infrared (MIR) alloy In(AsN) is placed in the intrinsic (i) layer of a p-i-n diode. The incorporation of nitrogen in the quantum well creates 0D states that are localized on nanometer lengthscales. These levels provide intermediate states that act as “stepping stones” for electrons tunnelling across the diode and give rise to a negative differential resistance (NDR) that is weakly dependent on temperature. These electron transport properties have potential for the development of nanometre-scale non-linear components for electronics and MIR photonics

Z-permutable subgroups of finite groups

Let ℨ be a complete set of Sylow subgroups of a finite group G, that is, a set composed of a Sylow p-subgroup of G for each p dividing the order of G. A subgroup H of G is called ℨ-permutable if H permutes with all members of ℨ. The main goal of this paper is to study the embedding of the ℨ-permutable subgroups and the influence of ℨ-permutability on the group structure