Spontaneous current generation in gated nanostructures

We have observed an unusual dc current spontaneously generated in the conducting channel of a short-gated GaAs transistor. The magnitude and direction of this current critically depend upon the voltage applied to the gate. We propose that it is initiated by the injection of hot electrons from the gate that relax via phonon emission. The phonons then excite secondary electrons from asymmetrically distributed impurities in the channel, which leads to the observed current.