Electron energy relaxation mechanism in n-type In_xGa_1-xAs_1-yBi_y alloys under electric and magnetic fields

Abstract We investigate the power loss per electron mechanism of hot electrons generated under electric and magnetic fields in n-type In x Ga 1-x As 1-y Bi y epitaxial layers. Acoustic phonons are generated under various electric fields to determine the hot-electron energy relaxation mechanisms at low temperatures. The hot electron temperatures are determined by theoretical calculation of the amplitude of the magnetoresistance oscillation. The power loss per degenerate electron is analytically modeled with possible scattering mechanisms. The modeling of the experimental results reveals that power dissipation occurs by employing deformation potential energy scattering for all the samples. The deformation potential energy increases by ∼ 2.14 eV/Bi% when Bi atoms are introduced into ternary InGaAs alloy and the increase in the deformation potential energy is found to be independent of the electron density, which indicates that power dissipation occurs in the equipartition regime.