Electro-optical Effects to Visualize Field and Current Distributions in Semiconductors

by Boer, Karl W.

• ISBN13: 9783642034398
• ISBN10: 364203439X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-03-06
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

The book describes the basic principles that relate to field and current inhomogeneities in semiconductors and their kinetics that occur in the regime of negative differential conductances of semiconductors. The book presents the related theory and experiment. It proceeds to give for the first time the experimental methods to observe directly these inhomogeneities within the semiconductor. It analyses in detail the different ranges in which such inhomogeneities occur, when they are stationary and when not and what technical and device application result. The accompanying film on the website demonstrates all related kinetic effects. Information on these effects was previously mostly available indirectly by interpretation of current-voltage characteristics, or by point contact probing along the surface, or by changes in the luminescence spectrum. The material is based on the original papers of the research team of the author, starting in the late 50's and updated to incl. 2008.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
A Brief History	p. 1
Negative Resistance Regimes	p. 4
Summary and Emphasis	p. 5
High-Field Domains	p. 7
Field-of-Direction Analysis	p. 7
Electron Mobility as Function of the Field	p. 16
Drift Velocity Saturation at Higher Fields	p. 18
Pseudo-Cathodes and the Field of Directions	p. 19
Doping-dependence of the Field Quenching	p. 22
Work Function Dependence on Photoconductivity	p. 26
Summary and Emphasis	p. 27
Moving High-Field Domains	p. 31
Stationary and Moving High-Field Domains	p. 31
Self-Sustained Free Moving High-Field Domains	p. 33
Unstable Moving High-Field Domains	p. 35
Stability Criteria and Moving High-Field Domains	p. 42
Trap-Controlled Kinetics	p. 43
Summary and Emphasis	p. 50
Negative Differential Conductivity Caused by Mobility	p. 53
Gunn Domains	p. 53
The Gunn Effect	p. 55
Summary and Emphasis	p. 58
Negative Differential Conductivity in Other Materials	p. 59
Domain Instability	p. 61
Field Domains in Superlattices	p. 64
Other Examples of Stationary and Moving High-Field Domains	p. 69
Summary and Emphasis	p. 71
Current Channels	p. 73
Initiation of Current Channels	p. 74
Current Channels in Dielectrics and Devices	p. 76
Thermo-Optical Method to View Current Channels	p. 76
Current Channel Modeling	p. 78
General Discussion of Current Channels of Filaments	p. 83
Filamentary Instability	p. 84
Stationary Filaments	p. 85
Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Filaments	p. 88
Examples of More Complex Filament Formation	p. 91
Impurity Breakdown in n-GaAs	p. 91
Summary and Emphasis	p. 97
Educational Films	p. 99
High-Field Domain and Current Channel Kinetics	p. 99
High-Field Domain Analysis	p. 99
Electro-Optical Tools	p. 99
Model Semiconductor Cadmium Sulfide	p. 100
The Film	p. 101
Field Inhomogeneities	p. 101
Current Distributions	p. 101
References	p. 105
Index	p. 119
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