Band-structure tailoring by electric field in a weakly coupled electron-hole system

A novel semiconductor switching device is proposed. It is based on unique control over the two-dimensional band structure of an AlSb-GaSb-InAs-AlSb heterostructure. By applying small electric fields, virtually any value can be achieved for such parameters as the energy gaps, effective masses, and carrier types and densities in the material. The proposed heterostructure can be readily fabricated with existing epitaxial techniques.