ELECTRON POLARITON INTERACTIONS IN SUBMICRON SEMICONDUCTOR STRUCTURES

The present paper is devoted to investigation of the interaction between the directional electron flow and a field of coupled oscillations (polaritons) in electrodynamic systems containing an inhomogeneous semiconductor structure carrying a current. An expression for the matrix element of the electron-polariton interaction Hamiltonian has been obtained. A kinetic equation describing the change of the number of polaritons in the system under investigation specified by the electron injection is found. It is shown that in the interaction of the directional electron flow with polaritons, radiation processes prevail over absorption. Hence under certain definite conditions coupled oscillations of the electrodynamic system with a semiconductor can become unstable. Instability regions as well as the growth rates and the energy losses by electrons for real parameters of the semiconductor and the electrodynamic system are given. © 1990.