Theory of electrical instabilities of mixed electronic and thermal origin

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Abstract
Switching phenomenon in amorphous semiconductors is analyzed in an electrothermal model. Current-voltage characteristics are obtained from very general mathematical considerations concerning existence, uniquencess, local and global stability, and bifurcation of solutions of the nonlinear equations for temperatures and field. Similar considerations show that in this model switching occurs by the nucleation and growth of a hot spot in the device interior. Detailed results are presented for two specific model systems.