The past three decades have been a period where useful current and voltage instabilities in solids have progressed from exciting research problems to a wide variety of commercially available devices. Materials and electronics research has led to devices such as the tunnel (Esaki) diode, transferred electron (Gunn) diode, avalanche diodes, real-space transfer devices, and the like. These structures have proven to be very important in the generation, amplification, switching, and processing of microwave signals up to frequencies exceeding 100 GHz. In this treatise we focus on a detailed theoretical understanding of devices of the kind that can be made unstable against circuit oscillations, large amplitude switching events, and in some cases, internal rearrangement of the electric field or current density distribution. The book is aimed at the semiconductor device physicist, engineer, and graduate student. A knowledge of solid state physics on an elementary or introductory level is assumed. Furthermore, we have geared the book to device engineers and physicists desirous of obtaining an understanding substantially deeper than that associated with a small signal equivalent circuit approach. We focus on both analytical and numerical treatment of specific device problems, concerning ourselves with the mechanism that determines the constitutive relation governing the device, the boundary conditions (contact effects), and the effect of the local circuit environment.

This volume contains the notes of lectures given at the school on "Nonlinear Dy namics in Solids" held at the Physikzentrum Bad Honnef, 2-6 October 1989 under the patronage of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. Nonlinear dynamics has become a highly active research area, owing to many interesting developments during the last three decades in the theoretical analysis of dynamical processes in both Hamiltonian and dissipative systems. Research has been focused on a variety of problems, such as the characteristics of regular and chaotic motion in Hamiltonian dynamics, the problem of quantum chaos, the forma tion and properties of solitary spatio-temporal structures, the occurrence of strange attractors in dissipative systems, and the bifurcation scenarios leading to complex time behaviour. Until recently, predictions of the theory have been tested predominantly on insta bilities in hydrodynamic systems, where many interesting experiments have provided valuable input and have led to a fruitful interaction between experiment and theory. Fluid systems are certainly good candidates for performing clean experiments free from disturbing influences: with fluids, compared to solids, it is simpler to prepare good samples, the relevant length and time scales are in easily accessible ranges, and it is possible to do measurements "inside" the fluid, because it can be filled in after the construction of the apparatus. Further, the theory describing the macroscopic dynamics of fluids is well established and contains only very few parameters, all of which have well-known values.

This monograph is devoted to an entirely new branch of nonlinear physics - solitary intrinsic states, or autosolitons, which form in a broad class of physical, chemical and biological dissipative systems. Autosolitons are often observed as highly nonequilibrium regions in slightly nonequilibrium systems, in many ways resembling ball lightning which occurs in the atmosphere. We develop a new approach to problems of self-organization and turbulence, treating these phenomena as a result of spontaneous formation and subsequent evolution of autosolitons. Scenarios of self-organization involve sophisticated interactions between autosolitons, whereas turbulence is regarded as a pattern of autosolitons which appear and disappear at random in different parts of the system. This monograph is the first attempt to provide a comprehensive summary of the theory of autosolitons as developed by the authors over the years of research. The monograph is comprised of three more or less autonomous parts. Part I deals with the physical nature and experimental studies of autosolitons and self organization in various physical systems: semiconductor and gas plasma, heated gas mixture, semiconductor structures, composite superconductors, optical and magnetic media, systems with uniformly generated combustion matter, distributed gas-discharge and electronic systems. We discuss feasibility of autosolitons in the form of highly nonequilibrium regions in slightly nonequilibrium gases and semiconductors, "hot" and "cold" regions in semiconductor and gas plasmas, static, pulsating and traveling combustion fronts.

In 438 alphabetically-arranged essays, this work provides a useful overview of the core mathematical background for nonlinear science, as well as its applications to key problems in ecology and biological systems, chemical reaction-diffusion problems, geophysics, economics, electrical and mechanical oscillations in engineering systems, lasers and nonlinear optics, fluid mechanics and turbulence, and condensed matter physics, among others.

This book brings together concepts from semiconductor physics, nonlinear-dynamics and chaos to examine semiconductor transport phenomena.

This handbook is a compendium giving a comprehensive description of the basics of semiconductor physics relevant to the design and analysis of thin film solar cell materials. It starts from the basics of material science, describing the material and its growth, defect and electrical properties, the basics of its interaction with photons and the involved statistics, proceeding to space charge effects in semiconductors and pn-junctions. Most attention is given to analyze homo- and hetero-junction solar cells using various models and applying the field-of-direction analysis for discussing current voltage characteristics, and helping to discover the involvement of high-field effects in solar cells. The comprehensive coverage of the main topics of - and relating to - solar cells with extensive reference to literature helps scientists and engineers at all levels to reach a better understanding and improvement of solar cell properties and their production. The author is one of the founders of thin film solar cell research.

Quantum Heterostructures provides a detailed description of the key physical and engineering principles of quantum semiconductor heterostructures. Blending important concepts from physics, materials science, and electrical engineering, it also explains clearly the behavior and operating features of modern microelectronic and optoelectronic devices. The authors begin by outlining the trends that have driven development in this field, most importantly the need for high-performance devices in computer, information, and communications technologies. They then describe the basics of quantum nanoelectronics, including various transport mechanisms. In the latter part of the book, they cover novel microelectronic devices, and optical devices based on quantum heterostructures. The book contains many homework problems and is suitable as a textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses in electrical engineering, physics, or materials science. It will also be of great interest to those involved in research or development in microelectronic or optoelectronic devices.

Since Volume 1 was published in 1982, the centres of interest in the basic physics of semiconductors have shifted. Volume 1 was called Band Theory and Transport Properties in the first edition, but the subject has broadened to such an extent that Basic Properties is now a more suitable title. Seven chapters have been rewritten by the original authors. However, twelve chapters are essentially new, with the bulk of this work being devoted to important current topics which give this volume an almost encyclopaedic form. The first three chapters discuss various aspects of modern band theory and the next two analyze impurities in semiconductors. Then follow chapters on semiconductor statistics and on surfaces, interfaces and band offsets as they occur in heterojunctions. Chapters 8 to 19 report on newer topics (though a survey of transport properties of carriers is also included). Among these are transport of hot electrons, and thermoelectric effects including here and elsewhere properties of low-dimensional and mesoscopic structures. The electron-hole liquid, the quantum Hall effect, localisation, ballistic transport, coherence in superlattices, current ideas on tunnelling and on quantum confinement and scattering processes are also covered.

Optoelectronics - Devices and Applications is the second part of an edited anthology on the multifaced areas of optoelectronics by a selected group of authors including promising novices to experts in the field. Photonics and optoelectronics are making an impact multiple times as the semiconductor revolution made on the quality of our life. In telecommunication, entertainment devices, computational techniques, clean energy harvesting, medical instrumentation, materials and device characterization and scores of other areas of R