High Electric Field Transport in the Lead Chalcogenides.
Abstract
Nanosecond pulse techniques were used to measure the velocity-field characteristics of bulk samples of n-type PbSe, PbTe and Pb(.83)Sn(.17)Te at 77K and 4.2K for carrier concentrations ranging from 1 x 10 to the 17th power/cc to 5 x 10 to the 17th power/cc. At fields of a few hundred volts/cm, strong deviations from ohmic conduction are observed, the velocity showing a clear tendency towards saturation. The theoretical analysis of the results shows that at high electric fields polar optical scattering is dominant in the Pb salts. The results obtained for electric fields above thethreshold for impact ionization are consistent with carrier generation if the Pinch effect is taken into account. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1971
- Accession Number
- AD0725165
Entities
People
- Hugues St-onge
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology