Spatial Imaging of Two-Dimensional Electronic States in Semiconductor Quantum Wells

Abstract

We measure the spatial distribution of the local density of states (LDOS) at cleaved surfaces of InAs/GaSb isolated quantum wells and double quantum wells (DQWs) by low-temperature scanning tunneling spectroscopy. Distinct standing wave patterns of LDOS corresponding to subbands are observed. These LDOS patterns and subband energies agree remarkably well with simple calculations with tip-induced band bending. Furthermore, for the DQWs, coupling of electronic states between the quantum wells is also clearly observed.