ARTICLE IN PRESS

Physica B 405 (2010) 2251–2258

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Physica B
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/physb

Effect of magnetic field on the electrostatic screening due to non-equilibrium

electrons in the presence of deep repulsive traps
S. Midday, D.P. Bhattacharya 
Department of Physics, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700 032, India

a r t i c l e in fo abstract

Article history: The problem of electrostatic screening of the perturbation potential due to lattice imperfections by hot
Received 15 January 2010 electrons has been studied here in the presence of crossed electric and non-quantising magnetic fields
Accepted 5 February 2010 and under the condition when the lifetime of the carriers is controlled by deep repulsive trap. The
screening characteristics are calculated in the general case of any mechanism of energy and momentum
Keywords: scattering of the hot carriers in the strong and weak magnetic field limits. For some definite scattering
Semiconductors mechanisms, however, the characteristics are obtained in the presence of any finite value of the
Screening magnetic field. The results calculated for Ge seem to be interesting in that they are not only different
Non-equilibrium electrons from what can be obtained for an ensemble that is in thermodynamic equilibrium with the lattice
atoms but are also quite different from what one obtains under the condition when the lifetime of the
hot electrons in the presence of the crossed electric and magnetic fields are controlled by attractive
traps. It is seen that the presence of the magnetic field sometimes introduces significant changes in the
screening characteristics. The limitations of the present theory are explained and its possible
applicability is discussed.
& 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction the inverse of the Debye screening length is given by [3]

The interaction of the free carrier ensemble in a semiconductor
with the lattice imperfections may be affected due to electrostatic
screening of the corresponding perturbing potential by the
ensemble itself. This in turn would change the transport
characteristics of the material. As the sizes of the solid-state
devices are made smaller, the carrier densities increase and the
role of the screening becomes important in determining device
performance.
When the free electrons interact either with ionized impurities
or with piezoelectric phonons, the screening effect is conspicuous
in as much as it is this screening of the interaction potential that
makes the transition probability of an electron from any state of
wave vector ~ k finite. Moreover a large concentration of the
electrons can be observed in systems like a highly doped material,
or in a two-dimensional electron gas formed in quantum wells, or
when impurity breakdown takes place in a bulk material at low
temperatures due to the impact ionization for an electric field E of
just a few volts/cm. Obviously for the study of such systems the
effect of screening should be taken into account [1–5].
When a non-degenerate ensemble of free electrons is in
thermodynamic equilibrium with the lattice at a temperature TL,
 Corresponding author. Tel.: + 91 33 2414 6666x2612.
E-mail address: d_p_bhattacharya@rediffmail.com (D.P. Bhattacharya).
 1
4pe2 nð0Þ 2
qs ð0Þ ¼
ed kB TL
where n(0) is the concentration of the equilibrium ensemble, ed
the static dielectric constant of the material and kB the Boltzmann
constant. Thus the effect of screening is important for higher
concentrations and lower temperatures.
At low lattice temperatures (TL o20 K), the electron ensemble
may be significantly perturbed from the state of thermodynamic
equilibrium in relatively weak fields, even at a fraction of a volt
per centimeter [6]. The energy distribution of the non-equilibrium
carriers now becomes non-Maxwellian, giving rise to a field
dependent mobility leading to electrical non-linearity of the
material at low temperatures. Moreover, the dynamical equili-
brium between the free carriers and the different trapping centers
present in a semiconductor may also be shifted at such fields. The
trapping of the free carriers by different centers often dominates
over band to band transition and this makes the concentration of
the non-equilibrium carriers field dependent n =n(E), bringing in
additional non-linearity [7–9].
At the low lattice temperatures all these high field effects
produce interesting changes in the screening length character-
istics. The screening length under these conditions not only
becomes field dependent qs = qs(E) but also assumes a different
temperature dependence compared to that of its equilibrium

0921-4526/$ - see front matter & 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.physb.2010.02.021
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
2252 S. Midday, D.P. Bhattacharya / Physica B 405 (2010) 2251–2258
value qs(0). As a result, corresponding changes are effected in the
matrix elements for the electronic transitions and hence it would
lead to interesting high-field characteristics of the material. The
problem of electrostatic screening due to non-equilibrium
electrons under various prevalent conditions is not yet well
studied in the literature. However, the present authors recently
reported some of the results they obtained from such studies
[10–15].
Under any prevalent condition the dominant scattering
mechanisms of the free electrons, the effective recombination
processes and the type of trapping centers are mainly the factors
that determine the dependence of the screening length upon the
electric field and the lattice temperature. It is seen that, when the
non-equilibrium electrons are scattered by the deformation
potential acoustic phonons, and in the absence of the recombina-
tion effects, the screening length drops significantly below its
thermodynamic equilibrium value, being inversely proportional
to the square root of the electric field, in some high field regime, at
low lattice temperatures. Again, when the recombination effects
are taken into account, the characteristics of the screening length
with respect to its field and lattice temperature dependences
become even more involved in that they are now significantly
different from what follows under the condition when the
recombination of the non-equilibrium electrons does not come
into effect.
When the free carriers are subjected simultaneously to
transverse electric and magnetic fields, a Hall field may develop.
The resulting heating field under this condition is the vector sum
of the applied field and the Hall field. The presence of the
magnetic field changes the energy distribution of the ensemble of
the non-equilibrium carriers. The characteristics of the screening
length due to an ensemble of non-equilibrium electrons in the
presence of the magnetic field under the condition when the
lifetime of the hot carriers is controlled by shallow attractive traps
has recently been obtained elsewhere [15]. The results showed
interesting characteristic features that are quite different from
what one can obtain in the absence of the magnetic field. It has
been seen that depending on the dominant momentum and
energy relaxation processes of the free electrons in the material,
and the strength of the applied electric field, the presence of the
magnetic field sometimes brings in significant changes in both
the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the characteristics
of the screening length with respect to its field and temperature
dependences.
The study of the effects of trapping of the non-equilibrium
carriers by repulsive traps has received much attention because
such trapping gives rise to the well-known phenomenon of
domain instability in semiconductors [16]. Hence it would be of
importance to make a detailed quantitative study of how the
above results [15] would change if the lifetime of the free carriers
is controlled by repulsive traps instead of the attractive ones.
Generalising Lucovsky’s model [17], a repulsive trap is
described by repulsive Coulomb potential. The trapping of the
electrons by repulsive centers is affected by the quantum
mechanical tunneling of the potential barrier produced by the
latter [18–20]. As the applied electric field is increased, the energy
of the electron increases and unlike the case of attractive traps,
the capture coefficient increases. This results in a decrease in the
carrier concentration with the increase of the applied electric
field. Thus on changing the nature of the traps from attractive to
repulsive, an opposite trend in the electric field dependence of the
screening length is expected in the range of the electric field over
which the effect of carrier trapping is felt.
Hence the purpose of this paper is to formulate the character-
istics of the electrostatic screening length due to an ensemble of
non-equilibrium electrons in the presence of a magnetic field
under the condition when the lifetime of the hot carriers is
controlled by deep repulsive traps. The investigations have been
carried out here for the general case of any mechanism of energy
and momentum scattering of the hot electrons in the presence of
a weak, or a strong but non-quantising transverse magnetic field.
The general expressions that describe the dependence of the
screening length upon the applied field and the lattice tempera-
ture have been obtained in an explicit form for some limiting
values of the magnetic field. For some definite scattering mecha-
nisms, the applied electric field dependence of the screening
length for any finite value of the magnetic field has also been
obtained for relatively high values of the total electric field. The
numerical results for some characteristics of the screening length
in n-Ge have been presented and analysed.
2. Theoretical background
Let us consider an ensemble of non-equilibrium electrons
subjected to transverse electric E and magnetic H fields. f ð~
kÞ, the
distribution function of the non-equilibrium electrons normalized
to the concentration n, can be written as [3,6]
f ð~
kÞ ¼ f0 ðeÞ þ k cos y:f1 ðeÞ ð1Þ
where f0(e) and f1(e) are the isotropic and anisotropic parts of
the non-equilibrium distribution function and y is the polar
angle of ~
k.
The reciprocal screening length due to an ensemble of non-
equilibrium carriers can be calculated from [10]
Z
8p2 e2 3
1
@f0 1
q2s ðE; HÞ ¼  ð2m kB TL Þ2 x2 dx ð2Þ
ed ‘ 3
0 @e
where m* is the effective mass of the free electrons ‘ ¼ 2hp, h is
Planck’s constant, x ¼ kBeTL , e the energy of a free electron.
Thus, to calculate qs(E,H), one should know the isotropic part of
the distribution function, and the field dependence of the carrier
concentration when their lifetime is controlled by deep repulsive
trap. The distribution function of the carrier ensemble can be
obtained from the solution of the Boltzmann transport equation
when the energy band structure of the material and the dominant
interaction processes under the prevalent conditions are known.
The field dependence of the concentration of the non-equilibrium
carriers can be calculated from the solution of the steady-state
rate equation, subject to charge neutrality condition [7].
At the low lattice temperatures of interest here (TL r20 K),
the free electrons are perturbed from the state of thermo-
dynamic equilibrium in relatively weak fields. Such electrons
are confined to a short segment of the energy dispersion curve
near the minimum of the conduction band. As such, one can
assume the band structure to be parabolic without any serious
loss of accuracy in the succeeding calculations. The anisotropy
and the many valley effects are known to effect just some changes
in the numerical coefficients in the analysis. Hence a scalar
effective mass of the electrons may also be assumed in the
formulation [21].
Let the carrier lifetime be much longer than all other relevant
characteristic times. We consider the general case when the
quasi-elastic scattering of the energy and momentum of the
carriers are dominated by the kth and ith mechanisms, respec-
tively. Then in the presence of a strong heating field limited by the
condition
x1
ðaik =Zzi Þcx ½Gð3=2xÞ=Gð5=2xÞð1xÞx ð3Þ
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
S. Midday, D.P. Bhattacharya / Physica B 405 (2010) 2251–2258 2253

and a transverse magnetic field satisfying the condition where

Z 1    1
t { t  t g
Zi ðaik =Zzi Þx xx Gð3=2xÞ=Gð5=2xÞ ð4Þ I1 ¼ k
f0;i ðxÞ exp pffiffiffi 1 dx;
c 0 x
Z 1    1
the solution of Boltzmann equation yields the isotropic part of the g
I2 ¼ expðxÞ exp pffiffiffi 1 dx and
energy distribution function [21] 0 x
Z 1
h i 1
k
k
f0;i ðxÞ ¼ N exp ðZzi xx =aik xÞ ð5Þ I3 ¼ x2 f0;i ðxÞdx
0
 qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
where 2pze2 m
g¼ ed ‘ 2kB TL
, z being the charge of the repulsive center in
 pffiffiffi 2  0 
aik ¼ el0i E= 3kB TL ~l =l0  E=E0
2 units of the electronic charge.
k i ik k
Using Eq. (5) for the distribution function f0;i ðxÞ the integrals in

2
2 Eq. (8) cannot always be performed analytically. However, for
Zi ¼ el0i H =2m c2 kB TL  H=Hi0  
g
c is the velocity of light, and N the normalization constant. li(x)and exp pffiffiffi c1 ð9Þ
x
~l ðxÞ are the momentum and energy free paths, respectively, and
k
their energy dependence may be given by where x is the average value of the normalized energy given by
 
0 x ¼ ðxaik =Zzi Þ1=x Gð5=2xÞ=Gð3=2xÞ and for fields
li ðxÞ ¼ l0i ðxÞðt þ 1Þ=2 and ~l k ðxÞ ¼ ~l k ðxÞðt0 þ 1Þ=2
!B
pffiffiffi1 þ2x
1 þ 2x

The values of t and t0, which depend on the specific 2 H

E5 2 x
g E0ik ð10Þ
momentum and energy relaxation mechanisms, respectively, are 4 Hi0
given in Ref. [21] for all well-known interaction processes.
the integration I1 can be carried out [23] and is given by
The upper sign in Eq. (4) should be considered for the case when
the applied magnetic field strength is weak and then 5 !1=2  
2pðgaik =Zzi Þ1 þ 2x ð1þ 2xÞg z ð1 þ12xÞ
I1 ¼ N exp  ð gaik =Zi
Þ
x ¼ x1 ¼ ð2tt0 Þ=2; z¼0 ð1 þ 2xÞg 2x
4
and for the case of strong magnetic field the lower sign in Eq. (4) ð11aÞ
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
should be considered, and then Likewise for g b 1:5 the integration I2 can be obtained as [23]
x ¼ x2 ¼ ð2 þtt0 Þ=2; z¼1 !1=2   2=3 
2pð2g2 Þ1=3 g
Substituting (5) for the isotropic part of the distribution I2 ¼ exp 3 ð11bÞ
3 2
function in Eq. (2), one can obtain
  and
q2s ðE; HÞ nðE; HÞ ðx1Þ=x G 1 þ ð1=2xÞ
 
¼ x ðZzi =aik Þ1=x ð6Þ 3 3 3
ðaik =Zzi Þ2x G
1
q2s ð0Þ nð0Þ Gð3=2xÞ I3 ¼ Nx 2x ð11cÞ
2x
Thus we see that the resultant field dependence of
Thus I1, I2 and I3 being known, one can obtain the field
the screening length is determined by the two factors that give
dependent concentration of the non-equilibrium carriers in the
rise to electrical non-linearity of the material. The first factor
presence of deep repulsive traps from Eq. (8). Hence the char-
n(E,H)/n(0) describes the part of the field dependence resulting
acteristics of the screening length under the prevalent conditions
from the capture of the non-equilibrium carriers by the trapping
may now be calculated from Eq. (6). However, the characteristics
centers in the material. The other factor describes the field
depend upon the total heating field E, which is the vector sum
dependence due to the heating of the free carrier ensemble in the
of the applied field Ex and the Hall field Ey. So in order to make
presence of the crossed electric and magnetic fields.
a direct comparison with experiments, one has to express E in
The field dependent concentration n(E,H) may be obtained
terms of Ex, which may be externally varied. The relation between
from a solution of the steady state rate equation supplemented by
these two fields depends on the boundary condition correspond-
the neutrality condition. Let us consider a semiconductor material
ing to the particular experimental set-up. In the case of crossed
doped with completely ionized shallow donors and deep
electric and magnetic fields, two such conditions may arise – the
negatively charged repulsive centers. When the concentration of
fixed field condition, when the applied field is just the heating
the free carriers is small compared with that of the trapping
field, and the fixed current condition, when [21]
centers, the field dependent concentration of the non-equilibrium
carriers normalized to its value under the thermodynamic E2 ¼ E2x ½1 þðmxy =mxx Þ2  ð12Þ
equilibrium condition is given by [16,18]
where mxx and mxy are the elements of the carrier mobility tensor.
nðE; HÞ cð0Þ Calculating these elements [21] one can obtain
¼ ð7Þ
nð0Þ cðE; HÞ 2  3
  t G2 ð5 þtt0 Þ=2x
Here c(E,H) and c(0) are the capture coefficients in the 2 24 z x
E ¼ Ex 1 þ Zi ðaik xÞ=Zi   5 ð13Þ
presence of the heating field and that under the condition of G2 ð5t0 Þ=2x
thermodynamic equilibrium, respectively.
When the free electrons in a covalent semiconductor are For weak magnetic fields described by the upper sign of the
captured in a non-radiative way by the deep repulsive traps, inequality (4), the applied field alone is to be retained in Eq. (13),
the normalized capture coefficient for lattice temperatures and thus the heating field EEEx. This makes E independent of the
TL r100Kand the depth of the trapping energy level l r0.26 eV magnetic field. But in the case when the electric field is strong
may be given in terms of the integrals I1, I2 and I3 as [22] enough to satisfy the lower sign of the inequality (4), the Hall field
pffiffiffiffi alone is retained in Eq. (13) and E may now depend on the
cðE; HÞ p I1 strength of the magnetic field. However, the actual dependence in
¼ ð8Þ
cð0Þ 2 I2 I3 this case is decided by the dominant scattering processes under
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
2254 S. Midday, D.P. Bhattacharya / Physica B 405 (2010) 2251–2258

any prevalent condition. Thus the above formulation provides the presence of any finite value of the magnetic field for those definite
general solution of the problem for the limiting ranges of the combinations of scattering mechanisms that satisfies the condi-
magnetic field. But the solution of the problem cannot be tion t + t0 = 2 and t 40. Hence it is clear that unlike what follows
obtained for such strengths of the magnetic field when the under the thermodynamic equilibrium condition, the screening
applied field and the Hall field are of the same order of magnitude. length now becomes dependent on the total heating field E and
However, both the distribution function and the solution of the shows rather complicated temperature dependence. Moreover,
equation connecting the applied field with the heating one may the screening length characteristic is now quite different from
be obtained for any non-zero magnetic field (Zi a0) for some what has already been obtained under the condition when the
definite combinations of the energy and momentum scattering electrons are captured by attractive traps [15].
mechanisms. These are the mechanisms that satisfy the condition To know how the screening length depends on the applied
t +t0 = 2 and t40. The symmetric part of the distribution function field EX under any prevalent condition it is required to express
then has the form [24] E in terms of EX under similar conditions. As has already been
explained the total electric field is always equal to the applied
k
f0;i ðxÞ ¼ N0 x1=aik exp½Zi xt =aik t ð14Þ
field, E= EX in the fixed field regime. In the fixed current regime,
where N0 is the normalization constant. however, the dependence of the screening length upon Ex for the
Putting Eq. (14) in Eq. (2), the normalized screening length general case of any mechanism of energy and momentum
may now be obtained as scattering may be obtained using Eq. (13) for the weak (x = x1;
  z = 0) and the strong (x = x2; z =1) magnetic fields, taking into
q2s ðE; HÞ nðE; HÞ
¼ ðZi =aik Þq1 t 1q GðpÞ=2GðqÞ ð15Þ account, respectively, the upper and the lower signs in Eq. (4).
q2s ð0Þ nð0Þ
Thus, under the condition of low magnetic field, the heating
For such combinations of the scattering mechanisms using electric field is again seen to be nearly equal to the applied field in
k
Eq. (14) for the distribution function f0;i ðxÞ one can carry out the the fixed current regime. Since, the magnetic field does not occur
integration in Eq. (8). For in the expression for the screening length under these conditions,
  irrespective of the experimental regime, the characteristic
g
exp pffiffiffi c1 ð16Þ dependence of the screening length upon the applied field at
x
any temperature, under the condition of low magnetic field,
 1=t h i
where x now assumes the form x ¼ t aik =Zzi GðrÞ appears to be independent of the strength of the latter. Under the
GðqÞ and p =
condition when the magnetic field is strong, the total heating field
(1/2t)  (1/aikt); q= (3/2t) (1/aikt); r= (5/2t) (1/aikt) and for
in the fixed current regime indeed depends upon the magnetic
electric fields
! field. The field dependence of the screening length for any
  H
1 þ 2t g t combination of the scattering mechanisms that satisfy the
E{ðt þ 2Þ 2 E0 ð17Þ conditions x 40, x2 4t is determined by the factor (aik/Zi). Now
2 Hi0 ik
from Eq. (13) it follows that for such a combination of scattering
one can get [23] mechanisms like t =t0 =  1, i.e. when both the energy and the
5
!1=2   2 momentum of the free carriers are scattered by deformation
4pðgaik =2Zi Þ1 þ 2t gaik aik ð2t þ 1Þ acoustic (a) phonons, x2 = 1 and (aaa/Za) turn out to be indepen-
I1 ¼ N0 pffiffiffiffi
gðt þ 2Þ 2Zi dent of the magnetic field, being equal to ð3 p=8ÞðEX =E0aa Þ. Hence


ð1 þ2tÞg 1 for such a combination of scattering mechanisms, even in the
exp  ðgaik =2Zi Þð1 þ 2tÞ ð18aÞ
2t presence of a high magnetic field, the characteristic dependence
of the screening length upon the applied electric field also appears
The integral I2 however remains the same. But I3 is now given to be independent of the magnetic field in the fixed current
by regime. In the same fixed current regime, for those definite
 p scattering mechanisms governed by the conditions t+ t0 =2 and
aik t40, the dependence of the screening length upon the applied
I3 ¼ N0 t q1 GðqÞ ð18bÞ
Zi field EX at any finite value of the magnetic field may be known
In order to obtain a relation between the total field E and the using Eq. (19), which relates E with EX under these circumstances.
applied field Ex for these combinations of the scattering mecha- Under any prevalent conditions, the ranges of the electric and
nisms one can calculate the mobility coefficients using Eq. (14) magnetic fields for which the formulation here is applicable
and thus obtain depend upon the lattice temperature. At any lattice temperature,
these ranges may be found from Eqs. (3), (4), (9), (10) and (13),
E2 ¼ E2x =½1ðEx =Exc Þ2  ð19Þ for the general case of any scattering mechanism in the weak
pffiffi
where Exc ¼ E0ik Gððt þ 3Þ=2tÞ= t Gðð2t þ3Þ=2tÞ. and strong magnetic field limits. For those definite scattering
mechanisms (t+ t0 =2; t 40) however, the electric field range may
be found from the condition aik b1 and Eqs. (16), (17) and (19) at
3. Results and discussions any finite value of the magnetic field.
For an application of the above formulation, a high purity
Thus we have obtained the characteristics of the screening sample of n-Ge is considered. The material parameters used in the
length due to non-equilibrium carriers in the presence of crossed numerical calculations are: m* = 0.12m0, m0 being the free mass of
electric and magnetic fields and under the condition when the the electron, cl =5.39  105 cm s  1, density of the material
lifetime of the carriers is controlled by deep repulsive trap. r =5.326 gm cm  3, ed/e0 = 15.8, e0 being the permittivity of the
The dependence of the screening length upon the total electric free space.
field E can be obtained from Eqs. (6), (7), (8) and (11) for the For such high purity sample, where ND +NA r1013 cm  3, both
general case of any mechanism of energy and momentum the energy and the momentum of the free carriers are scattered
scattering of the hot electrons in the strong and weak magnetic by the deformation acoustic phonons around a lattice tempera-
field limits provided x 40 and x2 4t. Likewise the expressions ture of 5 K [21], and hence t= t0 =  1 in this case. For the case of
(15), (7), (8), (11b) and (18) give the same dependence in the the strong electric field and the weak magnetic field x  x1 =2 and
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
S. Midday, D.P. Bhattacharya / Physica B 405 (2010) 2251–2258
z = 0. Hence, q2s ðE; HÞ is just inversely proportional to the applied
electric field for both the experimental regimes when the
recombination effects are absent. However the field dependence
of the screening length turns out to be much involved when
recombination effects are taken into consideration. Now the
condition of strong electric field as given by Eq. (3) assumes the
simple form E2 b9.4  10  4T3L and the same for the weak
magnetic field as given by Eq. (4) with the upper sign there
assuming the form H2 5349.7T3/2 E. The inequalities (9) and (10)
L 
90:86TL
1=4
1=2
may now be simplified to exp E1=2
c1 and E o 21334:12TL ,
respectively. We have already seen from Eq. (13) that for such
fields E EEX even in the fixed current regime. Thus at the lattice
temperatures between 4 and 20 K, our formulation is applicable
for the applied electric field range 0.5–25 V/cm and the magnetic
field ranges between 30 and 100 Oe.
On the other hand, if both the electric and magnetic fields are
strong, x  x2 = 1 and z = 1. The condition of the strong electric field
now takes the simple form E2 b8.75  10  5H2 and the same for
the strong magnetic field is given by H2 4409.4T3/2 L E. The
inequalities (9) and (10) under these conditions may be expressed
   
as exp 4:15 c1 and Eo 3:3H , respectively. In the fixed field
1=2
TL E
1=2
TL
regime E= EX. Thus at lattice temperature between 4 and 20 K, the
applicable range of the applied electric field for this formulation
turns out to be 1.2–10 V/cm and the magnetic field should lie
between 100 Oe to a few hundred Oe. However, in the fixed
current regime one can see from Eq. (13) that the applied field,
corresponding to a total field in this case, may be obtained from
3 1=2
E ¼ 0:45TL 4 Ex H. Hence at the same range of lattice temperatures,
the applied electric field should lie between 0.6 and 3.7 V/cm.
The dependence of the normalized screening length upon the
applied field EX thus obtained for any arbitrary regime over the
stated field ranges at the lattice temperatures TL = 4,10 and 20 K,
for the case of weak magnetic fields presented in Fig. 1.
For the case of strong magnetic field in the fixed current
regime, as has already been explained, the qualitative nature of
Fig. 1. Dependence of the normalized screening length upon the applied electric
field Ex in n-type Ge at different lattice temperatures for weak magnetic fields (z =0
and hence for an arbitrary regime) under the condition when both the energy and
momentum of the free electrons are scattered by deformation acoustic phonons
(i.e. t = t0 =  1). Curves 1a, 2a and 3a are obtained considering the recombination
effects at the lattice temperatures of 4, 10 and 20 K, respectively. Curves 1b, 2b and
3b are obtained at the same lattice temperatures but without considering the
recombination effects.
2255
dependence of the screening length upon EX turns out to be
similar to that for the weak magnetic field case and the char-
acteristic is independent of the magnetic field strength. However,
for the fixed field regime, the same characteristics do depend
upon the strength of the magnetic field and the results are plotted
in Fig. 2.
It is well known that the effects of recombination, which make
the concentration field dependent, are felt more and more the
lower the lattice temperature. The recombination effects, in the
presence of deep repulsive traps, make the screening length
assume a smaller value at any field if the lattice temperature is
low enough. As a result of the recombination effects, the concen-
tration of the non-equilibrium carriers in the presence of the deep
repulsive traps initially falls very rapidly with the increase of the
applied electric field. But the rate of fall gradually slows down and
the concentration tends to a lower saturation value as the electric
field is increased. The other factor in the expression for the
screening length that arises due to heating of the carriers is
inversely proportional to the square root of the applied field. As
such, initially this factor also decreases at a fast rate with the
increase of the applied field and then the rate slows down readily.
As a result, at relatively lower temperatures, when the effects of
recombination are quite strong, initially the screening length
decreases rather fast with the increase of the electric field and
then nearly tends to a lower saturation value.
It may be noted that the presence of a magnetic field produces
significant effects on the characteristics of the screening length
due to hot electrons. One can see from Eq. (6) that the screening
length increases linearly with the magnetic field, if the effects of
recombination are not taken into account.
The qualitative nature of the field dependence of the screening
length however remains the same, always being inversely
proportional to the electric field. But both the qualitative and
Fig. 2. Dependence of the normalized screening length upon the applied electric
field Ex in n-type Ge at different lattice temperatures for strong magnetic fields
(z = 1) in the fixed field regime and under the condition when both the energy and
momentum of the free electrons are scattered by deformation acoustic phonons
(i.e. t = t0 =  1). Curves 1a, 2a and 3a are obtained considering the recombination
effects at the lattice temperatures of 4, 10 and 20 K for the magnetic field strengths
of 100, 250 and 580 Oe, respectively. Curves 1b, 2b and 3b are obtained at the
same lattice temperatures but without considering the recombination effects.
Curves 4a and 5a are obtained considering the recombination effects at the lattice
temperature of 10 K and for the magnetic field values of 120 and 150 Oe,
respectively. Curves 4b and 5b are obtained at the same lattice temperature 10 K
and for the same magnetic fields, respectively, but without considering the
recombination effects.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
2256 S. Midday, D.P. Bhattacharya / Physica B 405 (2010) 2251–2258
quantitative changes in the characteristics are effected with the
change of the magnetic field if the processes of recombination
of the hot electrons are taken into account. The recombination
effects also make the screening length increase with the magnetic
field, but the rate of increase is now rather complex.
Under the condition when the impurity content in the sample
is high enough, the non-equilibrium electrons would interact with
acoustic mode lattice vibrations and ionized impurity (I) centers
at low lattice temperatures [21]. The carrier energy would be
scattered by deformation acoustic phonons (t0 = 1) if the average
normalized energy x{ðkB TL =m cl2 Þ. The momentum would be
dominantly scattered by ionized impurities (t =3) if ðxÞ2 {ðl0a =l0I Þ.
Under these conditions since t + t0 = 2 and t 40, one can calculate x
using Eq. (14) for the isotropic part of the distribution function
and thus can obtain these conditions in terms of the total heating
electric field.
The screening length in this case may be calculated from Eqs.
(15), (7), (8), (18) and (11b) for any non-zero value of the
magnetic field. Here p= 1/6, q= 1/2 and r = 5/6. It may be seen from
Eq. (15) that in the absence of recombination effects, unlike the
case of acoustic scattering (t =t0 =  1), now the screening length
increases linearly with the electric field and is inversely propor-
tional to the magnetic field. Since the rate of fall of the field
dependent concentration n(E,H) with the increase of the electric
field largely exceeds the constant rate of increase of the second
factor in Eq. (15), the screening length fast decreases with the
increase of the electric field if the recombination effects are taken
into account. In the fixed field regime, as before E =EX. Hence the
condition of strong
 1=2aIa b1 now
electric field assumes the simple
form EX 4 2:28 lnð1 þ 0:093TL2 Þ . Thus q2s ðE; HÞ  EHX , if recombi-
nation effects are absent. However, the screening length depends
upon the electric and magnetic fields in an involved manner when
Fig. 3. Dependence of the normalized screening length upon the applied electric
field Ex in n-type Ge at different lattice temperatures for any finite value of the
magnetic field in the fixed field regime, under the condition when the carrier
energy is scattered by deformation acoustic phonons (t0 =  1) and momentum by
ionized impurities (t = 3). Curves 1a, 2a and 3a are obtained considering the
recombination effects at the lattice temperatures of 10, 15 and 20 K, respectively,
and for the magnetic field strength of 400 Oe. Curves 1b, 2b and 3b are obtained for
the identical conditions with respect to the magnetic field and the same lattice
temperatures, respectively, but without considering the recombination effects.
Curves 4a and 5a are obtained considering the recombination effects at the lattice
temperature of 10 K and for the magnetic field values of 425 and 450 Oe,
respectively. Curves 4b and 5b are obtained at the same temperature 10 K and for
the same magnetic fields, respectively, but without considering the recombination
effects.
the recombination effects are taken into account. The electric field
range over which our formulation is valid depends upon the
lattice temperature as before. The range turns out to be between
10 and 20 V/cm for the lattice temperatures within 10–20 K. The
dependence of the screening length upon the applied field thus
obtained for NI = 1014 cm  3 is plotted in Fig. 3. It may be noted
from the figure that the qualitative nature of the field dependence
of the screening length turns out to be distinctly different as one
takes recombination effects into account. The recombination
effects give rise to lower values of the screening length for any
field at lower temperatures. The rate of change of the screening
length with the increase of the applied field is higher, the lower
the lattice temperature.
As follows from Eq. (19), the heating field E in the fixed current
regime under the prevailing conditions initially increases rather
slowly with the applied field Ex but the rate of increase becomes
quite sharp as Ex-Exc at any lattice temperature. The value of
the critical field Exc, which increases with temperature, may now
1=2
be obtained from EXC ¼ 1:48flnð1 þ 0:093TL2 g . This is one of the
characteristics of the combination of the partially restrictive
scattering mechanisms [12]. In this fixed current regime the
condition of the strong electric field assumes the form
1=2
EX 4 1:24flnð1þ 0:093TL2 Þg . The range of the applied field in
which this formulation is valid thus appears to be quite narrow
and lies between 2.15 and 2.82 V/cm for lattice temperatures
within 10–20 K. The variation of the heating field with the applied
field at different lattice temperatures has been given in Fig. 4. The
dependence of the normalized screening length upon the applied
field in the fixed current regime under the prevailing conditions,
for different lattice temperatures and for different magnetic field
strengths, are plotted in Fig. 5.
From a comparison of Figs. 3 and 5, it follows that significant
changes have been effected in both the quantitative and
qualitative aspects of the characteristics compared to which have
already been obtained earlier in Figs. 1 and 2, that represent the
same characteristics, when both the energy and momentum are
scattered by deformation acoustic phonons (t = t0 =  1). There has
been considerable increase in the value of screening length at any
electric field under the condition when the momentum is
Fig. 4. Dependence of the heating electric field E upon the applied field Ex in
n-type Ge at different lattice temperatures under the condition when the carrier
energy is scattered by deformation acoustic phonons (t0 =  1) and momentum by
ionized impurities (t = 3). Curves 1, 2 and 3 are obtained at the lattice temperatures
of 10, 15 and 20 K, respectively.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
S. Midday, D.P. Bhattacharya / Physica B 405 (2010) 2251–2258
Fig. 5. Dependence of the normalized screening length upon the applied electric
field Ex in n-type Ge at different lattice temperatures for any finite value of the
magnetic field in the fixed current regime, under the condition when the carrier
energy is scattered by deformation acoustic phonons (t0 =  1) and momentum by
ionized impurities (t = 3). Curves 1a, 2a and 3a are obtained considering the
recombination effects at the lattice temperatures of 10, 15 and 20 K, respectively,
and for the magnetic field strength of 400 Oe. Curves 1b, 2b and 3b are obtained for
the same magnetic field and at the same lattice temperatures, respectively, but
without considering the recombination effects. At a lattice temperature of 10 K
and for the magnetic field of 450 Oe curve 4a is obtained considering the effects of
recombination, whereas curve 4b is obtained without considering the same effects
of recombination.
dominantly scattered by ionized impurities (t = 3) rather than by
deformation acoustic phonons (t =  1). With the increase of the
electric field the screening length decreases in the former case
whereas it increases in the latter case if the recombination effects
are absent. However, if the recombination effects are taken into
account the qualitative aspects of variation of the screening
length with the increase of the electric field remain the same for
both the cases. Be it positive or negative, the rate of change of the
screening length with the applied electric field when t = 3 and
t0 =  1, turns out to be faster in the fixed current regime
compared to what is obtained in the fixed field regime. When
the recombination effects dominate, the screening length fast
tends to be independent of the electric field whatever may be the
type of the momentum scattering mechanism, deformation
potential or ionized impurity.
The dependence of the screening length upon the magnetic
field has also changed. For any value of the applied field the
screening length now assumes lower and lower values as the
magnetic field is increased in the fixed field regime if recombina-
tion effects are taken into account. In the fixed current regime
however, when the recombination effects are taken into con-
sideration, the screening length increases as the magnetic field
increases at any value of the applied field. At a lattice temperature
of 10 K and for an applied electric field of 12 V/cm, as the magnetic
field is increased from 400 to 450 Oe, the value of screening length
increases from 6.0 to 2.6 if the recombination effects are taken
into account and from 14.5 to 12.5 if the recombination effects are
absent in the fixed field regime. At lower values of the applied
field the discrepancy is still greater in the former case, whereas it
is smaller in the latter case. The effect of recombination makes the
screening length smaller for any value of the applied field if the
lattice temperature is lowered. In the fixed current regime an
2257
increase in the value of magnetic field at any temperature
decreases the value of the screening length if the recombination
effects are absent. But the recombination of the carriers increases
the screening length with the magnetic field.
All the above results explicitly show how the presence of a
magnetic field significantly changes both the qualitative and
quantitative aspects of the characteristic of the screening length
due to the non-equilibrium electrons. The results also reflect how
the variation of the prevalent conditions with respect to the
combination of the dominant relaxation processes for the energy
and momentum of the non-equilibrium electrons produces
significant changes in the characteristics. It has been interesting
to note that in the presence of a magnetic field, though the
isotropic part of the distribution function of the non-equilibrium
carriers changes, this in turn may not always lead to a change
in either the value of the screening length or its nature of
dependence on the applied field. The nature of dependence of the
screening characteristics upon the magnetic field at any lattice
temperature is determined by the prevailing conditions with
respect to the combination of the dominant relaxation processes
for the carriers of the non-equilibrium ensemble and the range of
electric and magnetic fields.
The theories developed here are based on a number of
simplifying conditions that may not be strictly met under the
prevalent conditions. First to mention amongst the various
prevalent conditions that has been considered here is the presence
of a strong magnetic field. The magnetic field, if it is so strong as to
satisfy the condition oC/tSb1 (oC being the cyclotron frequency
and /tSthe average value of the momentum relaxation time for
the dominant interaction process under the prevalent condition),
would give rise to a Landau level quantisation. The maximum value
of the magnetic field that we have considered here is 580 Oe in
the case of an n-Ge sample with ND +NA  1013 cm  3 at TL =20 K.
The results have been obtained under the condition when both the
energy and momentum of the free carriers are scattered by
deformation acoustic phonons t=t0 = 1. For an equilibrium
ensemble of electrons that obey Maxwellian statistics
oC/taS= mLB=1.22, where mL is the lattice-controlled mobility
[25]. However, the momentum relaxation time for interaction with
acoustic mode lattice vibration ta  x  1/2 [3,4]. For the hot
electrons that we study here in the presence of a strong magnetic
field one can see from Eq. (5) x ¼ 1:7x104 ðE=HÞ2 . As has already
been said, for our calculation the range of applied electric field EX in
the fixed field regime under the above prevalent conditions lies
between 6.0 and 10.0 V/cm. Thus if we consider an intermediate
value, say EX =8.0 V/cm, x ¼ 2:79. Hence for the hot electrons
oC/taS=0.89. Again the maximum value of the magnetic field
considered here is 450 Oe under the condition when NI =1014 cm  3
and the carrier momentum is dominantly scattered by ionized
impurities and the energy is scattered by deformation acoustic
phonons at TL =10 K (t= +3, t0 =  1, t+t0 =2, t40). The range of the
applied electric field EX in the fixed field regime under such
prevalent condition lies between 10 and 15 V/cm. Thus for an
intermediate value, say EX =12.0 V/cm, x ¼ 4:47. Hence for the hot
electrons oC/tIS=3.03. Thus the effect of magnetic quantisation
may not be always negligible in the formulation where we have
considered the presence of a strong magnetic field. Second, the
interaction of the electrons with the acoustic phonons is assumed
to be elastic and the phonon energy is neglected compared to the
energy of the electrons. This assumption cannot be strictly made at
the low temperatures. Apart from this, the equipartition approx-
imation for the phonon distribution is not valid either, under the
low temperature condition. Again, in the presence of a strong
electric field, the considerable power supplied to the carriers by the
field may lead to a perturbation of the equilibrium phonon
distribution under the condition of low temperatures [6]. All these
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
2258 S. Midday, D.P. Bhattacharya / Physica B 405 (2010) 2251–2258
factors are to be given due consideration in further investigations
of the problem considered here.
The theory developed here provides us results over some
regions of the external field and the lattice temperature. All these
seem to be quite easily accessible experimentally. There, being a
dearth of the experimental data in the literature, we cannot
compare the above results with the corresponding experimental
values. However, the results are interesting, and as such, stimul-
ate more studies of the high field characteristics of semiconduc-
tors under the condition when the lifetime of the hot electrons are
controlled by deep repulsive traps in the presence of a magnetic
field at low lattice temperatures.
Acknowledgements
One of the authors (S. Midday) is indebted to the University
Grant Commission, New Delhi, India for the award of a Teacher
Fellowship under Faculty Development Programme. The financial
support of Jadavpur University in the form of a research grant is
gratefully acknowledged. The authors also acknowledge the help
rendered by S. Nag.
Reference
[1] D.K. Ferry, Semiconductors, Macmillan, New York, 1991.
[2] B.K. Ridley, Quantum Processes in Semiconductors, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1993.
[3] B.R. Nag, Theory of Electrical Transport in Semiconductors, Pergamon Press,
Oxford, 1972.
[4] V.F. Banaya, L.I. Vaselova, E.M. Gershenson, V.A. Chuenkov, Soviet Phys.
Semicond. 10 (1976) 202.
[5] S.H. Koieng, R.D. Brown, W. Schillinger, Phys. Rev. 128 (1962) 1668.
[6] E.M. Conwell, High Field Transport in Semiconductors, Academic Press,
New York, 1967.
[7] V.L. Bonch-Bruevich, E.G. Landsberg, Phys. Status Solidi 29 (1968) 9.
[8] S.S. Paul, D.P. Bhattacharya, J. Appl. Phys. 64 (1988) 4554.
[9] T.K. Pramanik, D.P. Bhattacharya, J. Appl. Phys. 69 (1991) 2555.
[10] N. Chakrabarti, D.P. Bhattacharya, Solid State Commun. 99 (1996) 803.
[11] D.P. Bhattacharya, S.N. Patra, S. Midday, N. Paul, in: G. Ghosh, P.K. Goswami
(Eds.), Proceedings of the International Conference on Computers and Devices
for Communication, CODEC-04, Calcutta, Institute of Radio Physics and
Electronics, University of Calcutta, 2004.
[12] D.P. Bhattacharya, S. Midday, N. Paul, in: Sudakshina Kundu, Anupam
Karmakar, (Eds.), Proceedings of the International Conference on Electronic
ad Photonic Materials, Devices and System, EPMDS-2006, Calcutta, Depart-
ment of Electronic Science, University of Calcutta, 2006.
[13] D.P. Bhattacharya, S. Midday, J. Phys. Chem. Sol. 70 (2009) 360.
[14] S. Midday, D.P. Bhattacharya, Physica B 404 (2009) 1190.
[15] S. Midday, D.P. Bhattacharya, Can. J. Phys. doi: 10.1139/P09-101.
[16] V.L. Bonch-Bruevich, I.P. Zvyagin, A.G. Mirnov, Electric Instability due to
Domains in Semiconductors, Izd. Nauka, Moscow, 1972.
[17] G. Lucovsky, Solid State Commun. 3 (1965) 299.
[18] Z.S. Kachlishvili, Sov. Phys. Semicond. 1 (1965) 649.
[19] V.L. Bonch-Bruevich, Sov. Phys. Solid State 6 (1964) 2047.
[20] R.C. Pratt, B.K. Ridley, J. Phys. Chem. Solids 26 (1965) 21.
[21] Z.S. Kachlishvili, Phys. Status Solidi (a) 33 (1976) 15.
[22] V.L. Bonch-Bruevich, V. Mosk, Univ. Fiz. Astr. 5 (1971) 586;
V.L. Bonch-Bruevich, V. Mosk, Univ. Fiz. Astr. 6 (1971) 631.
[23] A.B. Migdal, Qualitative Methods in Quantum Theory, Nauka, Moscow,
1975.
[24] Z.S. Kachlishvili, Soviet Phys. JETP 78 (1980) 1955.
[25] P.P. Debye, E.M. Conwell, Phys. Rev. 93 (1954) 693.