Features of the current-voltage characteristics of long semiconductor structures under ultrahigh-level double-injection conditions

The widespread use of low-resistivity materials in modern solid-state elect ronics calls for an analysis of the current-voltage characteristics of long semiconductor structures under ultrahigh-level double-injection conditions . It is shown that the pure plasma model of semiconductors is not applicabl e in such an analysis, since the concentration dependence of the carrier mo bility mu(n) must be taken into account. The conditions for the appearance of highly superlinear current-voltage characteristics in the region of the initial variation of mu(n) due only to the rate of variation of the mobilit y of the majority carriers (the lambda effect) are analyzed. The lambda eff ect is manifested on the experimental current-voltage characteristics in th e form of sharp current jumps and corresponding high values of the differen tial order of the current-voltage (J - V) characteristic ( alpha = d log J/ d log V), which are determined by the variation of the differential order o f the concentration dependence of the carrier mobility lambda(n) = d log mu /d log n. A calculation shows that the mechanism for the appearance of the lambda effect can be determined at injection levels as high as similar to 1 0(17) cm(-3). (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S1063-7826(98)01212- 5].