Pattern formation in semiconductors

In semiconductors, nonlinear generation and recombination processes of free carriers and nonlinear charge transport can give rise to non-equilibrium phase transitions, . At low temperatures, the basic nonlinearity is due to the autocatalytic generation of free carriers by impact ionization of shallo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1999-02, Vol.397 (6718), p.398-398
Main Authors: Bel'kov, V. V, Hirschinger, J, Novák, V, Niedernostheide, F.-J, Ganichev, S.D, Prettl, W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carriers
Charge transport
Current carriers
Electric contacts
Electric fields
Electrons
Gallium arsenide
Humanities and Social Sciences
Ionization
Low temperature
multidisciplinary
Nonlinearity
Phase transitions
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
scientific-correspondence
Semiconductors
Ultraviolet radiation
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Summary:In semiconductors, nonlinear generation and recombination processes of free carriers and nonlinear charge transport can give rise to non-equilibrium phase transitions, . At low temperatures, the basic nonlinearity is due to the autocatalytic generation of free carriers by impact ionization of shallow impurities. The electric field accelerates free electrons, causing an abrupt increase in free carrier density at a critical electric field. In static electric fields, this nonlinearity is known to yield complex filamentary current patterns bound to electric contacts.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/17040