Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to provide information on the charge multiplication phenomena. As electrons are drifted through a crystal by an electric field, they gain energy from the field only to lose it again in various types of collisions at relatively low or moderate field strengths. A steady state is reached where the energy gained from the field is balanced by the energy lost by collisions with acoustical and optical phonons. The field dependence of the mobility in this regime is extensively studied and there exists a considerable literature on this subject. This acceleration does not go on indefinitely because eventually the electrons achieve sufficient energy for an additional type of energy-losing collision to occur, namely, pair production. In pair production, an energetic electron gives up a considerable fraction of its kinetic energy to a valence electron, thereby raising the latter to the conduction band and leaving a positive hole in the valence band.
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