An apparatus with a programmable response includes a semiconductor device with a junction formed thereon, the junction having a built-in potential, a quantum well element proximate to the junction that provides an energy well within a depletion region of the junction. The energy well comprises one or more donor energy states that support electron trapping, and/or one or more acceptor energy states that support hole trapping; thereby modulating the built-in potential of the junction. The semiconductor device may be a diode, a bipolar diode, a transistor, or the like. A corresponding method is also disclosed herein.