Impact ionization coefficients for electrons and holes in In0.14Ga0.86As

Abstract

We report the measurement of impact ionization rates for electrons and holes in the direct band-gap semiconductor alloy In0.14Ga0.86As. Our results show clearly that the ionization rate for holes is greater than that for electrons. The measurments were made for electric fields between 2.6×105 and 3.4×105 V cm−1. In this range, the ionization coefficients can be expressed as α=α∞ exp(-A/E) for electrons and β=β∞ exp(-B/E) for holes with α∞=1.0×109 cm−1, A=3.6×106 V cm−1, and β∞=1.3×108 cm−1, B=2.7×106 V cm−1.