Abstract
The drift velocity and Hall coefficient of tn and p-type PbTe at 77K were measured for various crystallographic directions of current up to field strengths of 1.5 kV/cm. Both the conductivity and the Hall effect are anisotropic with the latter depending also strongly on the magnetic field. These effects are attributed to nonuniform heating of the equivalent conduction band L-valleys of PbTe and equivalent intervalley transfer. For field strengths beyond 1 kV/cm oscillations of the current and the potential distribution occur. The Hall coefficient decreases sharply above this threshold indicating avalanche breakdown. At still higher field strengths a sign reversal of the Hall coefficient is observed. Probing the potential distribution, it could be shown that this instability is caused by high field domains, which travel along the sample with the drift velocity of the carriers. Possible mechanisms for the formation of high field domains are discussed.
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