Observation of Bloch oscillations in a semiconductor superlattice

Abstract

We report unambiguous experimental evidence for electron Bloch oscillations: The transient four-wave mixing signal of a biased semiconductor superlattice shows a periodic modulation with a time constant expected from Bloch oscillation theory. The oscillation frequency can be tuned over 400% with the applied electric field. The electron performs up to four oscillation cycles before the coherence is lost. © 1992.