Inelastic scattering of electrons traversing semiconductor heterojunctions
- 18 January 1988
- journal article
- research article
- Published by AIP Publishing in Applied Physics Letters
- Vol. 52 (3) , 236-238
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.99507
Abstract
We calculate the contribution of polar optic phonons to the inelastic scattering rate for an electron traversing semiconductor heterojunctions. In typical geometries, a dramatic reduction in scattering rate compared to the bulk value is found for a limited range of electron energies. This effect is related to spatial separation of initial and final electron wave functions either side of the heterojunction caused by quantum mechanical reflection at the interface. The influence of this phenomenon on the performance of devices, such as unipolar hot-electron transistors, is discussed.Keywords
This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- Room-temperature operation of hot-electron transistorsApplied Physics Letters, 1987
- Quantum reflection and dissipationPhysical Review B, 1987