Can fractal-like spectra be experimentally observed in aperiodic superlattices?
arXiv:cond-mat/9604141 · doi:10.1088/0268-1242/11/7/012
Abstract
We numerically investigate the effects of inhomogeneities in the energy spectrum of aperiodic semiconductor superlattices, focusing our attention on Thue-Morse and Fibonacci sequences. In the absence of disorder, the corresponding electronic spectra are self-similar. The presence of certain degree of randomness, due to imperfections occurring during the growth processes, gives rise to a progressive loss of quantum coherence, smearing out the finer details of the energy spectra predicted for perfect aperiodic superlattices and spurring the onset of electron localization. However, depending on the degree of disorder introduced, a critical size for the system exists, below which peculiar transport properties, related to the pre-fractal nature of the energy spectrum, may be measured.
arXiv comment12 pages, REVTeX, three postscript figures available upon request Accepted for publication in Semiconductor Science and Technology