MODEL FOR HOT-ELECTRON PHENOMENA - THEORY AND GENERAL RESULTS

We propose a model for the description of the hot-electron phenomenon in semiconductors. Based on this model we are able to reproduce accurately the main characteristics observed in experiments of electric-field transport, optical absorption, steady-state photoluminescence, and relaxation processes. Our theory contains neither free, nor adjustable parameters, it is very fast computationally, and it incorporates the main collision mechanisms including screening and phonon-heating effects. Our description is based on a set of nonlinear rate equations in which the interactions are represented by coupling coefficients or effective frequencies. We calculate these coefficients from the characteristic constants and the band structure of the material.