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Author Vandenberghe, W.; Sorée, B.; Magnus, W.; Fischetti, M.V.
Title Generalized phonon-assisted Zener tunneling in indirect semiconductors with non-uniform electric fields : a rigorous approach Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2011 Publication Journal of applied physics Abbreviated Journal J Appl Phys
Volume 109 Issue 12 Pages 124503-124503,12
Keywords A1 Journal article; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)
Abstract A general framework to calculate the Zener current in an indirect semiconductor with an externally applied potential is provided. Assuming a parabolic valence and conduction band dispersion, the semiconductor is in equilibrium in the presence of the external field as long as the electron-phonon interaction is absent. The linear response to the electron-phonon interaction results in a non-equilibrium system. The Zener tunneling current is calculated from the number of electrons making the transition from valence to conduction band per unit time. A convenient expression based on the single particle spectral functions is provided, enabling the evaluation of the Zener tunneling current under any three-dimensional potential profile. For a one-dimensional potential profile an analytical expression is obtained for the current in a bulk semiconductor, a semiconductor under uniform field, and a semiconductor under a non-uniform field using the WKB (Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin) approximation. The obtained results agree with the Kane result in the low field limit. A numerical example for abrupt p-n diodes with different doping concentrations is given, from which it can be seen that the uniform field model is a better approximation than the WKB model, but a direct numerical treatment is required for low bias conditions.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher American Institute of Physics Place of Publication New York, N.Y. Editor
Language Wos 000292331200134 Publication Date 2011-06-21
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0021-8979; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 2.068 Times cited 41 Open Access
Notes ; William Vandenberghe gratefully acknowledges the support of a Ph.D. stipend from the Institute for the Promotion of Innovation through Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT-Vlaanderen). ; Approved Most recent IF: 2.068; 2011 IF: 2.168
Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:90808 Serial 1325
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