Hot Electron Transistors

The transport properties of non-equilibrium electrons in GaAs Hot Electron Transistors has been successfully probed using Hot Electron Spectroscopy, and explained in terms of a fully coupled electron-phonon system. The mean free path, for a non-equilibrium electron is shown to be critically dependent on the electron concentration in the base region enabling us to conclude that GaAs is unsuitable for the fabrication of a useful Hot Electron Transistor. It is suggested that a semiconductor with a small effective mass or a two dimensional system in the base would show improved performance.