Numerical modeling of Bloch oscillations in periodic structures
By: Walter A. Coppeans III
Publisher: Naval Postgraduate School; Available from National Technical Information Service
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Monterey, Calif; Springfield, Va
Language: eng
Number of pages: 49
Description: Felix Bloch's 1928 article made a prediction concerning the dynamical behavior of electrons in      a solid, subject to a uniform, static electric field. This aspect of his work, as later clarified by      Zener, showed that electrons accelerated by an electric field in a periodic potential, under the      right conditions, would oscillate. A theoretical debate as to the existence of this phenomenon      has been ongoing since Bloch's proposal. One of the most controversial consequences of this      prediction is that an electron undergoing Bloch oscillations would radiate. The controversy on      the theoretical analysis was due to the great difficulty in systematically and reliably treating      interband transitions by analytical methods based on the time-dependent Schrodinger equation      for independent electrons. In this thesis, we numerically solve the time-dependent Schrodinger      equation to show that electrons accelerated by in an electric field in periodic structures do      undergo Bloch oscillations and other dynamic behavior. By accurately modeling this      phenomenon, we hope to gain a better understanding of it in hopes of using it in future      applications as a stable source of Terahertz (THz) radiation.
Notes: Thesis advisor(s): J.H. Luscombe,  Robert L. Armstead.

"December 1996."

Thesis (M.S. in Physics) Naval Postgraduate School, December 1996.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 47-48).

Approved for public release; distribution unlimited.

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US Navy (USN) author.

dk/dk cc:9116 6/11/97