Investigation into space charge effects in I–V characteristics of multi-layer semiconductor thermionic devices

The currently accepted model for the electronic transport in semiconductor thermionic devices does not take into account space charge effects between electrodes. We have observed that the experimental I–V characteristics of a multi-layer semiconductor thermionic device differ in shape significantly from those predicted by theory. Due to the small geometries involved in the devices, large electric fields can be present between electrodes. We have calculated the I–V characteristics of a device with and without these effects taken into account and compare them with experimental data.