The free path and the generation rate of a fast-moving electron interacting with a dielectric media

TL;DR

This paper analyzes how a fast-moving electron interacts with dielectric and semiconducting media, focusing on electron-hole and phonon excitations, and calculates the resulting electric potential, polarization, and energy losses.

Contribution

It provides a detailed theoretical analysis of electron interactions with media considering low-energy excitations, including new calculations of electric potential and energy loss patterns.

Findings

Electric potential varies with time and space around the moving electron.

Energy losses are influenced by electron-hole and phonon excitations.

Results enhance understanding of charged particle interactions with semiconductors.

Abstract

In the framework of macroscopic continuous medium approach, we studied the interaction between a fast-moving charged particle and dielectric or semiconducting media with low energy electrically active excitations. The excitations contribute to frequency dispersion of the media dielectric permittivity. Two types of processes induced by a moving charged particle are considered: electron-hole generation under interband transitions and excitation of polar optical phonons. For both processes we calculated and analyzed the time- and space-dependent electric potential generated by the charged particle, polarization of the media, energy losses of the particle and other important constituents of the interaction patterns. Obtained results can contribute to deeper understanding of the charged particle beams interaction with a semiconducting medium, as well as may be useful for versatile applications of charged beams.