p+-BeTe/n+-ZnSe ESAKI tunnelling heterojunctions for II-VI optoelectronic devices

The realisation of a p/sup +/-BeTe/n/sup +/-ZnSe ESAKI tunnelling diode is reported. Negative differential resistance was observed under forward bias at room temperature with a peak to valley ratio of 1.55:1. In the backward direction a current density of 400 A/cm/sup 2/ was achieved at 3.3 V. These data indicate that p/sup +/-BeTe/n/sup +/-ZnSe tunnel diodes are suitable as buried electron to hole converters in II-VI optoelectronic devices.