Electron transport within the wurtzite and zinc-blende phases of gallium nitride and indium nitride.

Wide energy gap semiconductors are broadly recognized as promising materials for novel electronic and opto-electronic device applications. As informed device design requires a firm grasp on the material properties of the underlying electronic materials, the electron transport that occurs within the wide energy gap semiconductors has been the focus of considerable study over the years. In an effort to provide some perspective on this rapidly evolving and burgeoning field of research, we review analyzes of the electron transport within some wide energy gap semiconductors of current interest in this paper. In order to narrow the scope of this review, we will primarily focus on the electron transport that occurs within the wurtzite and zinc-blende phases of gallium nitride and indium nitride in this review, these materials being of great current interest to the wide energy gap semiconductor community; indium nitride, while not a wide energy gap semiconductor in of itself, is included as it is often alloyed with other wide energy gap semiconductors, the resultant alloy often being a wide energy gap semiconductor itself. The electron transport that occurs within zinc-blende gallium arsenide will also be considered, albeit primarily for bench-marking purposes. Most of our discussion will focus on results obtained from our ensemble semi-classical three-valley Monte Carlo simulations of the electron transport within these materials, our results conforming with state-of-the-art wide energy gap semiconductor orthodoxy. A brief tutorial on the Monte Carlo electron transport simulation approach, this approach being used to generate the results presented herein, will also be provided. Steady-state and transient electron transport results are presented. The evolution of the field, a survey of the current literature, and some applications for the results presented herein, will also be featured. We conclude our review by presenting some recent developments on the electron transport within these materials. This review is the latest in a series of reviews that have been published on the electron transport processes that occur within the class of wide energy semiconductor materials. The results and references have been updated to include the latest developments in this rapidly evolving field of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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