Long Wave Polar Modes in Semiconductor Heterostructures is concerned with the study of polar optical modes in semiconductor heterostructures from a phenomenological approach and aims to simplify the model of lattice dynamics calculations. The book provides useful tools for performing calculations relevant to anyone who might be interested in practical applications. The main focus of Long Wave Polar Modes in Semiconductor Heterostructures is planar heterostructures (quantum wells or barriers, superlattices, double barrier structures etc) but there is also discussion on the growing field of quantum wires and dots. Also to allow anyone reading the book to apply the techniques discussed for planar heterostructures, the scope has been widened to include cylindrical and spherical geometries. The book is intended as an introductory text which guides the reader through basic questions and expands to cover state-of-the-art professional topics. The book is relevant to experimentalists wanting an instructive presentation of a simple phenomenological model and theoretical tools to work with and also to young theoreticians by providing discussion of basic issues and the basis of advanced theoretical formulations. The book also provides a brief respite on the physics of piezoelectric waves as a coupling to polar optical modes.

Under certain conditions electrons in a semiconductor become much hotter than the surrounding crystal lattice. When this happens, Ohm's Law breaks down: current no longer increases linearly with voltage and may even decrease. Hot electrons have long been a challenging problem in condensed matter physics and remain important in semiconductor research. Recent advances in technology have led to semiconductors with submicron dimensions, where electrons can be confined to two (quantum well), one (quantum wire), or zero (quantum dot) dimensions. In these devices small voltages heat electrons rapidly, inducing complex nonlinear behavior; the study of hot electrons is central to their further development. This book is the only comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of hot electrons. Intended for both established researchers and graduate students, it gives a complete account of the historical development of the subject, together with current research and future trends, and covers the physics of hot electrons in bulk and low-dimensional device technology. The contributions are from leading scientists in the field and are grouped broadly into five categories: introduction and overview; hot electron-phonon interactions and ultra-fast phenomena in bulk and two-dimensional structures; hot electrons in quantum wires and dots; hot electron tunneling and transport in superlattices; and novel devices based on hot electron transport.

In the last ten years, the physics and technology of low dimensional structures has experienced a tremendous development. Quantum structures with vertical and lateral confinements are now routinely fabricated with feature sizes below 100 run. While quantization of the electron states in mesoscopic systems has been the subject of intense investigation, the effect of confinement on lattice vibrations and its influence on the electron-phonon interaction and energy dissipation in nanostructures received atten tion only recently. This NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Phonons in Sem iconductor Nanostructures was a forum for discussion on the latest developments in the physics of phonons and their impact on the electronic properties of low-dimensional structures. Our goal was to bring together specialists in lattice dynamics and nanos tructure physics to assess the increasing importance of phonon effects on the physical properties of one-(lD) and zero-dimensional (OD) structures. The Workshop addressed various issues related to phonon physics in III-V, II-VI and IV semiconductor nanostructures. The following topics were successively covered: Models for confined phonons in semiconductor nanostructures, latest experimental observations of confined phonons and electron-phonon interaction in two-dimensional systems, elementary excitations in nanostructures, phonons and optical processes in reduced dimensionality systems, phonon limited transport phenomena, hot electron effects in quasi - ID structures, carrier relaxation and phonon bottleneck in quantum dots.

Bridging the gap between a general solid-state physics textbook and research articles, the renowned authors provide detailed explanations of the electronic, vibrational, transport, and optical properties of semiconductors. Their approach is a physical and intuitive one, rather than formal and pedantic. This textbook has been written with both students and researchers in mind, and the authors therefore present theories to explain experimental results. Throughout, the emphasis is on understanding the physical properties of Si, and similar tetrahedrally coordinated semiconductors, with explanations based on physical insights. Each chapter is enriched by an extensive collection of tables of material parameters, figures and problems -- many of the latter 'lead students by the hand' to arrive at the results.