Direct Investigation of Velocity Overshoot in the Femtosecond Regime
Abstract
The study of electron transport in GaAs has been driven by two separate but related forces. The first is that since the 1960's theorists have predicted several anomalous effects that should occur in this and other III-V materials, including negative differential resistance and the Gunn effect, velocity overshoot, and most recently hot phonon effects. In parallel with these theoretical developments has been the steady increase in applications of GaAs devices in communication and computer technologies. Two specific areas in which GaAs has a distinct advantage over its more mature Si competitor are in high- speed applications, because mobilities are generally higher in the III-V materials, and in optical and electro-optic devices, which take advantage of the direct-gap and electro-optic nature of GaAs. Currently the field of GaAs electro-optic devices is expanding geometrically as researchers explore the possibilities of ultra-high-speed hybrid optoelectronic computers and the 'ultimate' possibility of an all-optical computer. (RRH)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 25, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA218431
Entities
People
- Gerard A. Mourou
- Kevin Meyer
Organizations
- University of Rochester