Energy oscillations in electron transport across a triangular barrier

Carrier transport across the semiconductor space-charge region of a silicon triangular barrier diode was investigated by a Monte Carlo simulation. Oscillations of the electron mean kinetic energy are observed as a function of position along the uphill slope of the barrier under bias. At a given point on the uphill slope, the energy distribution function shows an oscillatory behavior, with a periodicity corresponding to the optical phonon energy. These oscillations are shown to be due to the nonequilibrium dynamics of the electron interaction with optical phonons in the situation when other inelastic electron scattering processes are negligible. The energy oscillations are superimposed on a smooth cooling of the distribution in the transport toward the top of the barrier, as current flows through the system. A comparison with the thermionic theory quantifies the importance of nonequilibrium effects in short-range electronic transport