Impact ionization across the conduction‐band‐edge discontinuity of quantum‐well heterostructures

Impact ionization across the band‐edge discontinuity of quantum‐well heterostructures is studied theoretically. We consider a heterolayer structure of alternating AlxGa1−xAs and GaAs layers where the GaAs layers are heavily doped with donors. Thus a large number of electrons is confined to the quantum‐well region. Incident electrons are heated up by applied electric fields and collide with the electrons confined in the well regions. Both the ionization rate as a function of the incident energy, and average ionization rates are computed. Device applications of such multiple quantum‐well structures and the possibility of a complete analog to the conventional photomultiplier are discussed.

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