Theoretical calculation of impact ionization rate in SiO2

Impact ionization rate in SiO2 was numerically calculated using both pseudo-wave functions and energy band structure based on a self-consistent pseudopotential method. To avoid numerical complexity due to amorphous structure, SiO2 was assumed to be a crystalline α-quartz. The calculated impact ioniz...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied physics 1993-07, Vol.74 (2), p.1100-1105
Main Authors: MIZUNO, H, MORIFUJI, M, TANIGUCHI, K, HAMAGUCHI, C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties
Conductivity phenomena in semiconductors and insulators
Electronic transport in condensed matter
Exact sciences and technology
High-field and nonlinear effects
Physics
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Summary:Impact ionization rate in SiO2 was numerically calculated using both pseudo-wave functions and energy band structure based on a self-consistent pseudopotential method. To avoid numerical complexity due to amorphous structure, SiO2 was assumed to be a crystalline α-quartz. The calculated impact ionization rate shows a strong wave vector anisotropy near a threshold energy regime, primary electrons existing at Γ point yield the strongest impact ionization rate. It was found that calculated results are not expressed by a Keldysh formula since SiO2 has complex band structure (e.g., indirect transition gap and nonparabolic bands). The magnitude of the theoretical impact ionization rate was very close to the experimental results recently reported by E. Cartier and F.R. McFeely [Phys. Rev. B 44, 10689 (1991)]. Detailed theoretical study clearly demonstrates that the average energy of secondary generated carriers depends linearly on the energy of primary electrons.
ISSN:0021-8979
1089-7550
DOI:10.1063/1.354959