Density-Gradient Theory of Electron Transport in Semiconductors
Abstract
A macroscopic description of electron transport in semiconductors has recently been developed (M. G. Ancona and H. F. Tiersten, Phys. Rev. B35-II, 7959 (1987)) in which the equation of state of the electron gas was generalized to permit a dependence on the gradient of the gas density. This generalization leads to a macroscopic theory - density-gradient theory - which is often expressible as a generalized diffusion-drift description and which is capable of describing quantum transport phenomena associated with carrier confinement and tunneling. The original paper contained a derivation of this description from well known principles of classical field theory but only in a very condensed form. It is the purpose of the present report to supplement the earlier paper by giving the detailed derivations. As in the original paper two methods of derivation are presented: One is a variational approach which follows the work of Toupin while the other uses a balance law approach pioneered by Green and Rivlin. Keywords: Electron transport, Semiconductors.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 22, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA206995
Entities
People
- H. F. Tiersten
- Mario G. Ancona
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory