Acoustic Scattering of Electrons in a Narrow Quantum Well

Abstract

Acoustic scattering is one of the mechanisms of electron energy and momentum relaxation in semiconductors.While 3D-electrons interact with low-energy acoustic phonons, and quasi-elastic approximations are applicable (Jacoboni and Lugli, 1989), a wider phonon spectrum is involved in quantum wells. The resultant reduction of 2D-electron mobility has been studied in elastic equipartition approximation by (1981). Effects of screening are taken into account by (1992). Enhanced energy loss is considered by (1986) and (1990) in electron temperature approximation. We report on an ensemble Monte Carlo (EMC) simulation performed without a priori simplifications on the shape of electron distribution function. The time of relaxation towards a Maxwell distribution function and the energy relaxation time are estimated.