Inelastic Scattering of Electrons in Germanium

Abstract

In doped, compensated samples of germanium at low temperatures, a scattering center analogous to the hydrogen molecule ion may be formed in which an electron (or hole) is shared between two donors (or acceptors). Mobile carriers can lose energy through excitation of this molecule. This mechanism of energy loss is probably important in the explanation of the negative resistance observed in lightly doped, compensated germanium at liquid helium temperatures. In this paper, a rough calculation of the average rate of energy loss is reported, which serves to confirm previous conjectures of the importance of this process.