Evolution of Electrical Transport Property in Ge-Based Negative Differential Resistance Devices under Pulsed High Magnetic Field

Negative differential resistance (NDR) effect has its research significance and application value. However, the evolution of the NDR under magnetic fields (especially ultrahigh magnetic fields) is rarely reported and unclear. Herein, the electrical transport properties of the Ge-based devices of Ag/p-Ge:Ga/Ag are investigated. In these devices, the NDR behavior is observed from 77 to 300 K, which is mainly related to the minority injection effect. Under static magnetic field conditions, the NDR is effectively enhanced and presented with geometrical-related anisotropy. Using a 50 T pulsed high magnetic field, the evolution of the NDR is further investigated at 300 K, and an unusual NDR is observed in a high field region due to stronger suppression of local impact ionization processes. This investigation results help to predict the performance evolution of the prospective NDR device in an ultrahigh-magnetic-field environment.