Nonlinear charge transport in bipolar semiconductors due to electron heating

TL;DR

This paper presents a new perspective on nonlinear charge transport in bipolar semiconductors, attributing it to electron heating effects that disrupt recombination balance and create nonequilibrium carrier concentrations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel explanation for nonlinearity in semiconductors based on electron temperature dependence and carrier heating effects.

Findings

Electron heating causes deviations from linear current-voltage behavior.

Recombination balance is broken due to charge carrier heating.

Nonequilibrium charge carrier concentrations arise from electron temperature effects.

Abstract

It is known that when strong electric field is applied to a semiconductor sample, the current voltage characteristic deviates from the linear response. In this letter, we propose a new point of view of nonlinearity in semiconductors which is associated with the electron temperature dependence on the recombination rate. The heating of the charge carriers breaks the balance between generation and recombination, giving rise to nonequilibrium charge carriers concentration and nonlinearity.