Hot-electron power losses in a quantum wire: thermal and non-thermal models for the Q1D electron gas

摘要

We show calculations of hot-electron power losses in a semiconductor quantum-wire due to electron-phonon couplings involving polar-optic and acoustic phonons. We consider the action of a DC electric field of moderate strength along the wire. The non-equilibrium distribution function (DF) for the Q1D electron gas is taken from two different models: (i) a thermal model where the DF is considered in the form of a shifted Maxwellian with a temperature T higher than the lattice temperature T-L and (ii) a non-thermal model with a DF reported by Zakhleniuk et al. (Phys. Rev. B 54 (1996) 17 838). In both cases we report the power loss as a function of the applied electric field F. The main goal of this work is to make a comparison of the two different approaches in order to analyze to what extent the thermal model is a valid approximation for this type of calculations. Particularly, a peculiar dependence on the quantum wire cross-sectional area is found for the non-thermal model. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. [References: 17]