Partial widths and branching ratios for the emitted electron resulting from interatomic Coulombic decay in quantum wells heterostructure

Abstract

Interatomic coulomb decay (ICD) is a decay process relying on the Coulombic interaction between neighbouring atoms, molecules or nanostructures. Due to this process, an electron is emitted into the continuum. We study the ICD process in a system of the double quantum well heterostructure and investigate how we can manipulate the structure's parameters such that a better detection of the ICD's emitted electron is achieved. For this purpose, we calculated the partial widths (PWs) and branching ratios (BRs) of the ICD's emitted electron to the left and right asymptotes of the heterostructure; these will give an estimation of the detection current. We manipulated the structure's parameters and took into account the repulsion from the electron in the ground state located in the left well. By introducing two small barriers in the vicinity of the right QW, we observed a BR three times larger than in the structure without the barriers. We also investigate the effect of repulsion due to the second electron. This work gives a better understanding of the dynamics of the scattered ICD's electron, and realisation of better design rules for future experimental observation of ICD in nanostructures.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Keywords:

• Interatomic Coulombic decay
• quantum wells
• nano-structures
• partial widths

Acknowledgments

The author acknowledges many fruitful conversations regarding this work with Prof. Nimrod Moiseyev.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The author acknowledges financial support from the Technion-MIT fellowship.