Monte Carlo simulations of ballistic-electron-emission-microscopy imaging and spectroscopy of buried mesoscopic structures

Abstract

Monte Carlo simulations of the transport of electrons injected into the Γ valley of GaAs are performed for ballistic-electron-emission-microscopy (BEEM) imaging and spatially resolved spectroscopy of model quantum dots and quantum wires buried beneath the Au-GaAs interface. To determine the spatial resolution and the energy resolution of BEEM for such buried mesoscopic structures, the current fluxes and the electron normal wave vector distributions are obtained as a function of the depth from the Au-GaAs interface. The BEEM current cross sections and the spatially resolved BEEM spectra on and off these structures are calculated in order to study their dependence on the depth and the scanning-tunneling microscope tip-to-sample bias.