Phenomenon of intrinsic breakdown in the field emission p-type semiconductors

Abstract

Summary form only given, as follows. It has been known that field emission current-voltage characteristics for p-type semiconductors are essentially nonlinear. There are three adequately described regions of these characteristics. For the first region field emission characteristics correspond with the Fowler-Nordheim law. In the second region the current slightly depends on voltage (it is the saturation region), while for the third region the current once again begins to increase appreciably. This increase was explained by impact ionization of impurity centres. In was supposed that for the subsequent voltage increase this process leads to an avalanche rise in current and an explosive-like destruction of the field emitter. There is some critical strength of electric field (voltage) and when the electric field strength reaches this critical value, field emission current begins spontaneously to increase in time with immutable field strength (anode voltage). This phenomenon was named the intrinsic breakdown of the semiconductor in the process of field emission. The results of our investigation for Ge, high resistance Si (p=2/spl times/10/sup 3/ /spl Omega/.cm) and GaAs are presented. We have made an attempt to trace the general regularities of the observed intrinsic breakdown for various semiconductor materials and to distinguish the main parameters and conditions of this phenomenon.