A theory of high-field transport in two-valley semiconductors is developed and its implication in the high frequency devices is discussed. The main feature of the present work is the use of the Boltzmann equation with a space drift term retained as the starting point of the theory. The theory predicts the existence of a cold region near the cathode contact. In this region, electrons are not heated enough to transfer to the upper valleys. The Gunn oscillation is suppressed in a short diode comparable to the length of the cold region, even though the product n · l exceeds 10 12 cm -2 . In this nonoscillating state, the average electron velocity surpasses the peak velocity of the static v - E curve, and consequently, an anomalously short transit time is expected. These theoretical results will have a great significance in the high frequency devices with short active regions.
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Toyabe et al. (1974) studied this question.