Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge / 2019 / Paper 2 / Section B / 21

For parabolic bands, the density of states near a subband edge scales as $g_{1D}\propto (E-E_n{)}^{-1/2}$, $g_{2D}\propto \Theta (E-E_n)$, and $g_{3D}\propto \sqrt{E-E_c}$. Thus a quasi-1D wire has inverse-square-root singularities at successive transverse subband thresholds, a quasi-2D well has a staircase, and a bulk 3D band rises smoothly from zero. Each expression vanishes below its threshold.

These sketches assume extended noninteracting states with simple quadratic dispersion. Finite temperature, disorder and finite lifetime broaden measured threshold features; the ideal singularity is integrable and does not represent infinitely many states in a finite energy interval.

n-type doping adds donor impurities with weakly bound electrons near the conduction-band edge; ionization supplies conduction electrons and leaves positive donor ions. p-type doping introduces acceptors near the valence-band edge, producing holes and negatively charged ionized acceptors. Silicon and germanium commonly use group-V donors and group-III acceptors; dopant behaviour in a compound semiconductor depends on its lattice site.

Doping sets carrier concentration, Fermi level and resistivity. Spatially patterned donor and acceptor regions form p-n junctions, transistor source/drain regions and electrical contacts; remote doping can supply carriers to a cleaner conducting layer. Compensation and incomplete ionization mean carrier density need not equal the total impurity concentration.

A larger-gap AlGaAs barrier has a higher conduction-band edge than GaAs. Donors in AlGaAs supply electrons that transfer into lower-energy GaAs states, leaving a positively charged donor region. The resulting electrostatic field bends the GaAs conduction band into a triangular interface well. Motion normal to the interface is quantized, while motion parallel to it remains approximately free, producing a two-dimensional electron gas.

The confined envelope peaks just inside GaAs and decays into the AlGaAs barrier; a triangular-well treatment gives an Airy-function-like envelope with boundary matching. An undoped spacer separates the electrons from the donors, strongly reducing ionized-impurity scattering compared with uniformly doped 3D material and enabling high mobility. Band offsets, donor supply, interface roughness and electrostatics jointly determine whether a single occupied subband is obtained.

For longitudinal motion in transverse subband $i$,For a completely free particle take $E_i=0$ and use the full wave vector. In a semiconductor the parabolic-band mass is the appropriate effective mass rather than necessarily the bare electron mass.

For a wire of length $L$, one spin state has $Ldk/(2\pi )$ states in one propagation direction. Including two degenerate spin states and using $dϵ/dk=\hslash v$ givesDivide by $L$ for density per unit length. The factor-of-two distinction is essential: the current from one reservoir uses only its incoming propagation branch. If spin degeneracy is lifted, count each resolved spin channel separately.

Use the one-way density per unit length $g_{+}/L=2/(h|v|)$. The electron-flux magnitude in an interval is charge times velocity times line density:If $g$ is instead defined for a finite length $L$, the traversal frequency is $|v|/L$; the same cancellation follows. The printed $I=Nev$ therefore requires $N$ to be a line density, not an unscaled total particle number.

Subtract the opposite reservoir's incoming flux. With the stated electron electrochemical potentials, conventional positive current is opposite to electron-number flux, soAt low temperature and small bias, each fully transmitted occupied spin-degenerate subband contributes $2e^2/h$. Hence $\boxed{G=N_{b}2e^2/h}$. More generally, the Landauer formula weights each mode by its transmission probability; imperfect transmission removes exact integer plateaux.

With ballistic conductance quantization, as a gate opens the channel, conductance plateaux at $G=N_b(2e^2/h)$ appear; successive transverse modes add one quantum, approximately $77.5\mu \mathrm{S}$ per spin-degenerate subband. Their appearance is the key low-temperature electrical signature.

Require transverse confinement with separated subbands, $k_{B}T$ and measurement-bias energy well below the subband spacing, a mean free path exceeding the channel length, and smooth low-reflection coupling to reservoirs. Correct for appreciable external series resistance. Phase coherence is needed for additional interference oscillations, but perfect phase coherence across an entire macroscopic circuit is not a separate requirement for the basic mode-counting result. A field that resolves spin splitting can produce $e^2/h$ increments.^[ref]