Charging effects of ErAs islands embedded in AlGaAs heterostructures

Self-assembled ErAs islands were grown on GaAs between a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) and a backgate electrode by molecular-beam epitaxy. The islands have overlapping Schottky barriers that form an insulating potential barrier. A TiAu topgate was added by shadow mask evaporation. Thermal activation and charging experiments were employed to gain insight into the electronic properties of the ErAs island systems. In addition the 2DEG was characterized as a function of topgate and backgate voltage.