Series on Semiconductor Science and Technology- Hot Electrons in Semiconductors

This title is about what happens when Ohms law breaks down completely. How it happens, and the impact of the phenomenon on current research in semiconductors and on the electronic and optoelectronic technology is the subject matter of this book. Since the arrival of the transistor in 1947, research in hot electrons, like any field in semiconductor research, has grown at a stunning rate. From a physicist's point of view the understanding of hot electrons and their interactions with the lattice has always been a challenging problem of condensed matter physics. Recently, with the advent of novel fabrication techniques such as electron beam or plasma etching and the advanced growth techniques such as the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and metallo-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD), it has become possible to fabricate semiconductor devices with sub-micron dimensions where the electrons are confined to two (quantum well), one (quantum wire) or zero (quantum dot) dimensions. In devices of such dimensions a few volts applied to the device result in the setting up of very high electric fields, hence a substantial heating of electrons. Thus electronic transport in the device becomes non- linear and can no longer be described using the simple equations of Ohm's law. The understanding of the operations of such devices, and the realisations of more advanced ones make it necessary to understand the dynamics of hot electrons. There is an obvious lack of good reference books on hot electrons in semiconductors. The few that exist either cover a very narrow field or are becoming quite outdated. This book is therefore written with the aim of filling the vacuum in an area where there is much demand for a comprehensive reference book. The book is intended for both established…