Temperature influence on hydrodynamic instabilities in a one-dimensional electron flow in semiconductors

Hydrodynamic instabilities in one-dimensional electron flow in semiconductor and their dependency with the electron and lattice temperatures are studied here. The driving force for the electrons is imposed by a voltage difference, and the hydrodynamic and electrostatic equations are linearized with respect to the steady-flow solution. A two-temperature hydrodynamic model predicts a stable electron flow through the semiconductor. A one-temperature hydrodynamic model is obtained by neglecting the electron energy losses due to heat conduction and scattering. This model shows that the electron flow can become unstable and establishes a criterion for that. Applied voltage and temperature can play the role of tunable parameters in the stability of the electron flow. © 2010 American Institute of Physics. #doi:10.1063/1.3326946$