Energy relaxation of electrons in the (100) n-channel of a Si-MOSFET: II. Surface phonon treatment

The electron energy relaxation is investigated as a function of the “electron temperature” T_e in the n-channel of a (100) surface silicon MOSFET device by inspecting the phenomenological energy relaxation time τ_ε(T_e). τ_ε is determined theoretically and compared to experimental results in order to identify the energy relaxation mechanism(s) present at the interface. Two dimensional electron transport is assumed. Single activation temperature (θ) Rayleigh wave scattering and acoustic Rayleigh wave scattering are studied as possible energy loss processes. The effects of electric subbanding near the surface are included. τ_ε is calculated for T_e ? 15 K in the electric quantum limit. We find that a single θ = 12.0 K Rayleigh phonon fits theory to experiment for a single electron inversion density (N_inv) case, but can not provide a fit simultaneously for more than one N_inv value. Theory and experiment disagree when Rayleigh wave acoustic scattering is assumed.     

Acoustic perturbations in a pulsedRF-plasma

The response of a stationary weakly ionized plasma to a density perturbation in the neutral gas component was studied in a neon plasma with the following typical properties: electron density ¯N _e≈8×10¹² cm^?3, electron temperature on the axis of the vesselT _e0≈3.0 eV; neutral gas densityN _n≈1×10¹⁷cm^?3 and neutral gas temperatureT _n0≈600 °K. A neutral density perturbation, generated 50 cm apart from the plasma, produces a fluctuation in the ion density and a sharp spike in the differential voltage of a floating double probe. The experimental observations demonstrate the propagation of an ion sheath and of an electric field perturbation together with the neutral density perturbation. An interpretation of the plasma response to acoustic wave pulses has been proposed by Ingard and Schulz in a theory on acoustic wave modes in a weakly ionized gas. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical expectations.     

Dual band enhanced transmission through a subwavelength aperture based on two split-ring-resonators

Enhanced transmission through a subwavelength aperture is observed at two frequency bands with employment of two split-ring-resonators (SRR) of different sizes. Each of the SRR is excited to produce resonance and the electric field energy localized in its gap and split region can be coupled into a small hole with a radius of 2.3 mm around the respective resonance frequency. The simulation results show that the energy through the small hole is increased at 5.94 GHz (r/λ ₁=0.045) and 7.03 GHz (r/λ ₂=0.054), where 1042-fold and 88-fold enhancements are obtained, respectively, in comparison with the case of a single isolated hole. Moreover, it is found that placing two identical SRR structures in front of the hole can realize higher enhanced transmission with respect to the case of only one SRR utilized. The electric field coupling-enhancement mechanism is well described by studying the electric field distribution.     

Optical-transmission modulation in CdS caused by acoustoelectric domain propagating along c-axis

When an acoustoelectric domain in a piezoelectric semiconductor traverses the monochromatic light near the intrinsic absorption edge, absorbed and transmitted optical modulations are observed. In order to reveal the mechanisms, we apply an electric field parallel to the c-axis of the CdS single crystal. In this case the electric field dependences of the off-axis angle are different for a high field domain and an acoustic domain. Comparing the electric field dependence of the off-axis angle of the optical modulation with that of the high field domain or the acoustic domain, we conclude that the transmitted and absorbed optical modulations are caused by the acoustic domain. Further, in order to establish the nature and mechanism of the optical modulation in case of E||c, we observe the spectral dependences of the absorbed optical modulation and find that there are two kinds of light absorption; one is due to pure shift in the absorption edge and the other is due to broad tail for low energy side. In case of e||c (e: polarization of incident light) both types of modulation exist at the same time and in case of e⊥c only the latter exists.And it is speculated that the transmitted optical modulation is due to the effect of induced birefringence caused by acoustic strain.     

Theory of the hot free carrier intraband-absorption coefficient of n-inversion layers

The absorption coefficient K of a quasi two dimensional (2D) hot free electron gas is calculated for the first time as a function of the lattice temperature T, the photon angular frequency w, the carrier density N_s as well as the electron temperature T_e when the carriers are scattered by ionized impurities, acoustic phonons and polar optical phonons. Analytical expressions are derived in the limiting cases of non-degeneracy and degeneracy of the electron system. In the quantum limit ħw/k_BT_e ≳ 1 where the interaction between the electron and the photon is inelastic K sensitively depends on the limiting scattering mechanism showing that the electron motion is completely controlled by the photon field. In the classical limit ħw/k_BT_e ⪡ 1 the absorption decreases proportional to w¹ independent of the limiting scattering mechanism in agreement with the experimental data deduced from far-infrared absorptivity measurements on GaAs heterolayers.     

Optimum acoustic wave second-harmonic generation in piezoelectric semiconductors

The phenomenological approach has been used to study analytically the acoustic wave second harmonic generation in piezoelectric semiconductors in the presence of the d.c. electric and an oscillating electromagnetic field (OEF). It has been suggested that the second harmonic acoustic flux (SHAF) can be enhanced considerably by the application of an OEF polarized in the direction of the propagating acoustic wave. The SHAF exhibits a maximum at Ω = ω, where Ω is the frequency of the OEF and ω is the frequency of the acoustic wave. The SHAF also shows a maximum at d.c. electric fields for which the average drift velocity of the carriers is equal to the velocity of sound. It is found that for a typical case of n-type nondegenerate InSb (77°K, n = 2·5 × 10¹⁴ cm^?3) that the SHAF is enhanced by a factor of 10³ over its value in the absence of OEF. The present analysis is valid in the low frequency region only (i.e. ql ? 1).     

Stimulated raman scattering from plasma modes in magnetoactive semiconductors

Stimulated scattering off electron plasma mode is investigated analytically for the case when the pump wave is an intense circularly polarised electromagnetic wave propagating parallel to a homogeneous dc magnetic field in an isotropic semiconductor-plasma. The threshold electric field of the pump necessary for the stimulated Raman scattering and the growth rate of the parametrically unstable mode have been obtained for two cases (i)B ₀=0 and (ii) B₀ ≠ 0. It is seen that the magnetic field does not significantly affect the threshold electric field as well as the growth rate provided the cyclotron frequency is small compared to the frequency of the pump wave. The threshold conditions are also found to be insensitive to the electron thermal velocity.     

Measurement of electron energy and density in an H. F. electrodeless ring discharge

The electron temperatureT _e and the electron density were measured as functions of the radial distance in a 10 Mc/s electrodeless ring discharge in hydrogen in the pressure range 0.1–0.3 Torr. It was found thatT _e remains nearly constant along the radius of the cylindrical vessel. The measured values ofT _e have been compared with those observed by other workers and an estimate of the effective electric field in the discharge has been made. From this estimate it has been inferred that even after the first stage of the ring discharge is well established the longitudinal component of the electric field remains of considerable importance. The radial density distribution of the electrons was found to be different from those in an uniform electric field. This deviation in the radial density distribution has been attributed to the influence of the azimuthal electric field.     

Instability of electromagnetic waves in transversely magnetised semiconductor-plasmas

Using the hydrodynamic model of plasmas the general dispersion relation is derived in the collisiondominated regime when a d.c. magnetic field is applied (Y-axis) transversly to the propagation vector k (Z-axis), and the d.c. electric field is inclined to the Z-axis in the X-Z plane. The dispersion relation is solved for intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors to explore the possibility of wave instability. The threshold conditions of wave oscillations are obtained. In n-InSb the frequency of the oscillation attains a maximum value when the electron cyclotron frequency is equal to the electron collision frequency. In intrinsic InSb instability is possible only in the long wavelength region for E₀ ? 10 kVm^?1 when B₀> 0.2 T, while for lower values of B₀, E₀ should be greater 20kVm^?1. The energy dependent collision frequency has a significant effect on the threshold frequency of oscillation.     

Parametric instability in a two-hole species semiconductor-plasma

The parametric excitation of a low frequency wave has been investigated analytically in a two-hole species semiconductor-plasma in the region of kl ? 1 using the hydrodynamic model of the plasmas in the presence of a high frequency oscillatory electric field (E₀ cos ω₀t applied along the X-axis) and a d.c. magnetic field B₀ normal to the electric field (along the Z-axis), the low frequency wave propagating in the X–Z plane making a very small angle θ with the X-axis. The system supports a purely growing unstable mode. The variation of the growth rate of the unstable mode has been studied over a wide range of system parameters for the specific case of an intrinsic GaAs crystal at 300 K. The oscillatory electric field can be obtained by irradiating the crystal with a 119μm H₂O laser.     

Parametric excitation of helicon and acoustic waves in piezoelectric semiconductor-plasma

The parametric excitation of a helicon and an acoustic wave in a piezoelectric semiconductor-plasma in the presence of a strong magnetic field has been investigated using the coupled mode theory. The expressions for the threshold value of the electric field required for the onset of instability and for the growth rate well above the threshold have been obtained. It is observed that an acoustic wave of higher frequency and higher phase velocity than that of the pump wave cannot be excited. The analysis has been applied to the case of n type InSb sample where the threshold value of the electric field is found to be of the order 5.2 × 10³ Vm^?1 and the growth rate at an electric field 5.2 × 10⁴ Vm^?1 is of the order of 8.7 × 10¹⁰ sec^?1.     

Relaxation processes and mobility of electrons in a semiconductor quantum well with the modified Pöschl-teller confining potential

Relaxation processes and mobility of electrons in a semiconductor quantum well are studied. The modified Pöschl-Teller potential is used as a confining potential. Scattering rates due to impurity ions, acoustic and piezoacoustic phonons are calculated taking into account the screening of scattering potentials by charge carriers. It is shown that when degenerate electrons are scattered by acoustic phonons, the dependence of scattering rate on electron wave number ν_ac(k) is almost linear. At small k, the acoustic phonon piezoelectric scattering rate of degenerate electrons increases with k, and then it decreases slightly when k > 8 × 10⁷ m⁻¹. The ionized impurity scattering rate of degenerate electrons does not depend on temperature, is directly proportional to the electron density, and decreases with increasing k. Dependences of electron mobility on surface ion density and temperature are studied. It is shown that in the case of non-degenerate or slightly degenerate electron gas, a maximum appears in the temperature dependence of the mobility, and the screening effect is negligible. The screening significantly increases the mobility of electrons in the case of high degeneration. Obtained results are applied to GaAs-based quantum wells.     

Nonlinear analysis of a surface-helical instability of a semiconducting plasma. II

We give the results of a numerical calculation of nonlinear effects of surface-helical instability of an electron-hole plasma, based on the theory, developed earlier, for the case of equal mobilitiesμ _e =μ _h =μ. The amplitudes of the helical waves, the nonlinear diminution of the current, and the frequency shift for the mode ¦ m ¦ = 1, k = (4/3)^1/2 is calculated as a function of the cutoff magnetic field B in the range 0<μB < 3.     

Spectra of high-frequency waves in hot magnetized plasmas

On the basis of numerical solution of the dispersion equation, we obtain the spectra of weakly damped high-frequency waves in a hot magnetized plasma for the case where the electron cyclotron frequency ω_He is below the plasma frequency ω_pe. It is shown that the longitudinal wave propagating at an angle to the magnetic field evolves into the slow extraordinary wave for the refractive index n ≤ 1. For n ≫ 1, the longitudinal-wave frequency increases with the refractive index, and the wave evolves into the wave with anomalous dispersion if the angle θ between the wave vector and the magnetic field is close to 90°. In the same range of θ angles, Bernstein modes appear in the spectrum of plasma eigenmode oscillations. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 258–266, March 2006.     

Temperature dependent energy relaxation time in AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructures

The two-dimensional (2D) electron energy relaxation in Al_0.25Ga_0.75N/AlN/GaN heterostructures was investigated experimentally by using two experimental techniques; Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) effect and classical Hall Effect. The electron temperature (T_e) of hot electrons was obtained from the lattice temperature (T_L) and the applied electric field dependencies of the amplitude of SdH oscillations and Hall mobility. The experimental results for the electron temperature dependence of power loss are also compared with the current theoretical models for power loss in 2D semiconductors. The power loss that was determined from the SdH measurements indicates that the energy relaxation of electrons is due to acoustic phonon emission via unscreened piezoelectric interaction. In addition, the power loss from the electrons obtained from Hall mobility for electron temperatures in the range T_e > 100 K is associated with optical phonon emission. The temperature dependent energy relaxation time in Al_0.25Ga_0.75N/AlN/GaN heterostructures that was determined from the power loss data indicates that hot electrons relax spontaneously with MHz to THz emission with increasing temperatures.     

Electronic thermal conductivity in suspended and supported bilayer graphene

Electronic thermal conductivity κ_e is investigated, using Boltzmann transport equation approach, in a suspended and supported bilayer graphene (BLG) as a function of temperature and electron concentration. The electron scattering due to screened charged impurity, short-range disorder and acoustic phonon via deformation potential are considered for both suspended and supported BLG. Additionally, scattering due to surface polar phonons, is considered in supported BLG. In suspended BLG, calculated κ_e is compared with the experimental data leaving the phonon thermal conductivity. It is emphasized that κ_e is important in samples with very high electron concentration and reduced phonon thermal conductivity. κ_e is found to be about two times smaller in supported BLG compared to that in suspended BLG. With the reduced extrinsic disorders, in principle, the intrinsic scattering by acoustic phonons can set a fundamental limit on possible intrinsic κ_e.     

Dissociative recombination of electrons and O 2 + molecular ions in the field of intense visible laser radiation

We analyze the low-temperature dissociative recombination reaction e ^?+O ₂ ⁺ → O(¹ D)+O(³ P) in the field of visible monochromatic laser radiation. The analysis is performed in terms of the multichannel quantum defect theory using the stationary formalism of the radiative collision matrix. We calculate the dependences of the reaction cross section on the incident electron energy, the external electromagnetic field strength and frequency, and also the angle between the directions of the electron beam and the electric vector for linearly polarized radiation. The cross section is shown to increase by several orders of magnitude for a certain choice of these parameters, suggesting the possible laser stimulation of this reaction.     

Coupling constant thresholds in nonrelativistic quantum mechanics. I. Short-range two-body case

Consider ?Δ + λV with V short range at a value λ₀ where some eigenvalue e(λ) → 0 as λ ↓ λ₀. We analyze two questions: (i) What is the leading order of e(λ), i.e., for what α does e(λ) ～ c(λ ? λ₀)^α? (ii) Is e(λ) analytic at λ = λ₀ and, if not, what is the natural expansion parameter? The results are highly dimension dependent.     

Excitation of multiple wakefields by short laser pulses in quantum plasmas

We present a theoretical investigation of the excitation of multiple electrostatic wakefields by the ponderomotive force of a short electromagnetic pulse propagating through a dense plasma. It is found that the inclusion of the quantum statistical pressure and quantum electron tunneling effects can qualitatively change the classical behavior of the wakefield. In addition to the well-known plasma oscillation wakefield, with a wavelength of the order of the electron skin depth (λe=c/ωpe, which in a dense plasma is of the order of several nanometers, where c is the speed of light in vacuum and ωpe is the electron plasma frequency), wakefields in dense plasmas with a shorter wavelength (in comparison with λe) are also excited. The wakefields can trap electrons and accelerate them to extremely high energies over nanoscales.