Hot electrons in group-III nitrides at moderate electric fields

By the use of the Monte Carlo method, we studied the distribution function and the basic characteristics of hot electrons in InN, GaN, and AlN under moderate electric fields. We found that in relatively low fields (of the order of kV/cm) the optical phonon emission dominates in the electron kinetics. This strongly inelastic process gives rise to a spindle-shaped distribution function and an extended portion of a quasisaturation of the current–voltage (I–V) characteristics (the streaming-like regime). Formation of this regime is induced by a suppression of the electron spreading over the momenta perpendicular to the electric field. We prove that this is a universal character of the hot electron behavior for all three nitrides. The effects can be detected by the measurement of the I–V characteristics, or the thermopower of hot electrons in the transverse direction.