Hot-electron transport in In0.53Ga0.47As

Abstract

A Monte Carlo routine has been used to simulate hot-electron transport across narrow regions of heavily doped In0.53Ga0.47As. The doping level/widths considered correspond to those proposed for the base of hot-electron transistors. For doping levels of order 1018 cm−3, the injected hot electrons suffer inelastic scattering by the coupled plasmon-optic phonon mode. The performance of hot-electron transistors is characterized by the base transfer factor which relates a change in collector current with a change in emitter current. The base transfer factor is determined from the simulations for a range of base widths and operating conditions. Results for InGaAs are compared with those for GaAs. Under comparable operating conditions, the InGaAs hot-electron transistor offers a higher transport efficiency and hence, higher current gain compared with that of GaAs. We have used the Monte Carlo routine to simulate the performance of experimental results from InGaAs hot-electron transistors. The simulations are in good agreement with the experimental results.