Abstract:Impact ionization of semiconductors under ultrafast electric-field excitation at the streamer discharge front is theoretically investigated. It is shown that impact ionization is initiated by virtual electrons and is of unthreshold character unlike the known mechanisms of impact ionization in quasi-stationary field. Amplitudes and probabilities of the interband transitions are calculated. The lack of threshold conditions permits the momentum transmitted at impacts between particles to be very small which resul… Show more
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