Energy loss in nano-dimensional wire structures due to piezoelectric interaction at low temperatures

Abstract

The theory of energy loss rate of non-equilibrium electrons due to inelastic interaction with intravalley piezoelectric phonons in a nano-dimensional semiconductor wire has been developed under the condition of low lattice temperatures, without recourse to the standard approximations which are usually made when developing theories at relatively higher temperatures. Such approximations are hardly valid when the lattice temperature is low. As expected, compared to the well-known earlier results, the theory here, reveals a complex and altogether different dependence of the energy loss rate upon the carrier energy and the lattice temperature. The numerical results have been obtained for narrow channel wires of GaAs and GaN. On comparison with other available results, it is revealed that the finite energy of piezoelectric phonons and the full form of the phonon distribution bring about quite significant changes in the energy loss characteristics at low temperatures.