Magnetic field effects on InSb tunnel diodes

For InSb tunnel diodes placed in a magnetic field H, the ratio of longitudinal to transverse tunnel currents yields a relatively direct measurement of the tunneling exponential (V). For a typical InSb diode we found 0, the zero bias value of , to be 10.7±0.2, which implies an effective built-in junction field of 5.7±0.1×104 vcm. This value agrees well with the maximum and average junction fields calculated using the known doping concentrations and assuming a step junction. The pre-exponential tunneling factor is found to be (1.8±0.4)×10 7 ampv cm2, which is about 30 times larger than Kane's theoretical result. The voltage dependence of is found to be expressible as =0(1-VV0)-1n with V0=0.2 ev and n=2.2. © 1962 The American Institute of Physics.