Multiwell Potential in a Trench-Type Quantum Point Contact

Abstract

A physical mechanism has been proposed to explain the appearance of the multichannel electron transport regime in trench quantum point contacts. It has been shown that the redistribution of electrons in a two-dimensional electron gas, which is due to the Coulomb interaction between them and with charged donors and X-valley electrons, results in the experimentally observed multichannel regime. The numerical simulation of the redistribution of electrons and its comparison with the measurements of the conductance of trench quantum point contacts based on a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure demonstrate the formation of a multiwell confining potential.