Efficient injection-type ballistic rectification in Si/SiGe cross junctions

Tunable inertial-ballistic rectification is studied in a nanoscale injection-type Si/SiGe rectifier in the hot-electron regime. The rectifier consists of a cascade of two nanoscale cross junctions in series. Two pairs of opposing current injectors merge under 30∘ into a straight central voltage stem. The electron densities in the injectors and the stem can be adjusted separately by two local top-gates. The measurements reveal a substantial efficiency increase for a nearly depleted stem. The efficiency of ballistic rectifiers can be expressed by the transfer resistance RT (output voltage divided by input current), the best value we achieve is View the MathML source.