Hot electron and quasiballistic transport of nonequilibrium electrons in diamond thin films

Abstract

A molecular dynamics simulation of conduction-band transport in diamond has been carried out that combines classical propagation of electrons with choice of scattering events determined by a Monte Carlo algorithm using quantum mechanical rates. The high-field regime is dominated by hot optical phonon scattering for n⩽1019 cm−3 and by electron–plasmon emission for higher electron concentrations. Electron–electron and electron–hole binary processes do not significantly influence the transport characteristics but extend the high-energy tail and asymmetry of the electron distribution, making it more “Maxwellian.” The results demonstrate the possibility of achieving quasiballistic transport in thin diamond films with a significant portion of the field energy imparted to the electrons at high fields (F≈102 V/μm) and electron concentrations up to n≈1018 cm−3.