ANGULAR-DEPENDENCE OF HOT-ELECTRON TRANSPORT THROUGH A 2-DIMENSIONAL ELECTRON-GAS LAYER

We present an analysis of the angular dependence of hot-electron transport through a zero-temperature two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG), as can be realized experimentally in semiconductor structures under applied magnetic fields. We calculate the scattering probability and energy loss as functions of energy and angle of incidence of the hot electrons impinging on a 2DEG of density n(s) = 10(16) m-2. For high injection energies the total scattering probability and the energy loss show an inverse cosine behavior, while for lower injection energies the scattering exhibits a sudden decrease due to the disappearance of the 2DEG-plasmon scattering channel. We discuss the implications of our findings for the operation of 2DEG-base hot-electron transistors.