Electron-hole scattering and the negative absolute mobility of electrons in a semiconductor quantum well

Abstract

We study the transport of a quasi-two-dimensional electron-hole gas in a semiconductor quantum well. The screening in the presence of the electron-hole interaction is carefully considered. The method of nonequilibrium phonon wave packet, developed by us, is generalized to include the simultaneous presence of two-dimensional electrons and holes. The occurrence of negative absolute mobility for electrons is discussed. The mobility of minority electrons and majority holes are calculated by use of a drifted temperature model for both types of carriers. The mobilities of minority electrons (from negative to positive) as functions of lattice temperature and electric field are shown. Comparison is made with experiment.