Electric field effect on the binding energy of a hydrogenic impurity in coaxial GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum well-wires

The ground state binding energy of a hydrogenic impurity in a coaxial cylindirical quantum well wire system subjected to an external electric field applied perpendicular to the symmetry axis of the wire system is studied within a variational scheme. Binding energy calculations were performed as functions of the inner barrier thickness and the electric field for two different impurity positions. The main result is that a sharp decrease in the binding energy, which may be important in device applications, occurs in certain conditions. (C) 2001 Academic Press.