CONSERVATION-LAWS AND CHARGE-TRANSPORT ACROSS HETEROJUNCTION BARRIERS

A theory of charge transport across the heterojunction potential barri ers based on the electron energy conservation and on the quasiimpuls p arallel component conservation is presented. A rectangular potential s tep, rectangular potential barrier and parabolic barrier of the space charge layer of a Np-heterojunction are investigated. The concept of e ffective barrier height is used to determine the domains of integratio n in the current density formulae. It is demonstrated that the ratio o f electron effective masses together with the motion parallel to the h eterointerface significantly affect the thermionic emission and tunnel ing. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.