Abstract :
The rate at which energetic electrons lose energy to a solid via phonons and various electronic excitations plays a key role in such devices as solid-state photomultipliers, Gunn oscillators, avalanche diodes, cold cathodes, negative-affinity emitters, and acoustoelectric amplifiers, and in such phenomena as electron mobility, current saturation, and dielectric breakdown. A semiclassical model for the rate of loss of energy will be presented that is conceptually simple and graphic and that provides a valid quantitative guide for analysis.
