Devil's staircase, spontaneous-DC bias, and chaos via quasiperiodic plasma oscillations in semiconductor superlattices
arXiv:1201.6280
Abstract
We study a plasma instability in semiconductor superlattices irradiated by a monochromatic, pure AC electric field. The instability leads to sustained oscillations at a frequency ω2 that is either incommensurate to the drive, or frequency-locked to it, ω2 = (p/q) ω. A spontaneously generated DC bias is found when either p or q in the locking ratio are even integers. Frequency locked regions form Arnol'd tongues in parameter space and the ratio ω2 / ω exhibits a Devil's staircase. A transition to chaotic motion is observed as resonances overlap.
8 pages, 3 figures