A carrier temperature model simulation of a double-drift IMPATT diode

A computer simulation of double-drift silicon IMPATT diodes is presented. The model is essentially the conventional drift-diffusion model with two significant improvements; the ionization coefficients are assumed to be functions of carrier temperature rather than local electric field, and a description of the effects of the carriers' thermal conductivity is included [1]. Our model includes all known hot electron effects except velocity overshoot (hot electron drift, diffusion, relaxation, and heat conduction), and is exact within the framework of an electron temperature model.