Impact neutralization of D− ions in GaAs and InP

Abstract

Impact neutralization coefficient for the reaction D−+e→D0+2e is reported, where D− and D0 are the negatively charged and neutral donor, respectively, and e is the conduction band electron. The coefficient was calculated using the Boltzmann transport equation and the scaled neutralization cross section of the negatively charged hydrogen atom. At liquid helium and lower temperatures the above reaction for n-GaAs and n-InP doped with shallow donors was found to be characterized by a relatively large impact neutralization coefficient. At weak electric fields, from about 0.2 to 1 V/cm, the neutralization coefficient increases exponentially and at higher fields saturates at the value of about 1.5×10−3 cm3/s for n-GaAs and 9×10−4 cm3/s for n-InP.