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Polar Optical Phonon Instability and Intervalley Transfer in Gallium Nitride

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

B. E. Foutz ,
S. K. O'leary ,
M. S. Shur ,
L. F. Eastman ,
B. L. Gelmont  and
M. Stroscio
B. E. Foutz
Affiliation:
School of Electrical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
S. K. O'leary
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180-3590
M. S. Shur
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180-3590
L. F. Eastman
Affiliation:
School of Electrical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
B. L. Gelmont
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903
M. Stroscio
Affiliation:
Army Research Office, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709-2211
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Abstract

We develop a simple, one-dimensional, analytical model, which describes electron transport in gallium nitride. We focus on the polar optical phonon scattering mechanism, as this is the dominant energy loss mechanism at room temperature. Equating the power gained from the field with that lost through scattering, we demonstrate that beyond a critical electric field, 114 kV/cm at T = 300 K, the power gained from the field exceeds that lost due to polar optical phonon scattering. This polar optical phonon instability leads to a dramatic increase in the electron energy, this being responsible for the onset of intervalley transitions. The predictions of our analytical model are compared with those of Monte Carlo simulations, and are found to be in satisfactory agreement.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 512: Symposium F – Wide Bandgap Semiconductors for High Power, High Frequency , 1998 , 549
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1998

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References

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