HOT ELECTRON TRANSISTORS.

Abstract

The subject of hot electron transistors is reviewed. Even though these structures were proposed in the 60s, very little progress has been reported until recently. Encouraging recent results are reviewed and discussed. Transfer of hot electrons through a 1000angstrom GaAs base in excess of 70% had been previously achieved. These types of devices lend themselves easily to the characterization of hot electron transfer, such as finding the energy distribution, the mean free path, and the properties of tunneling through or surmounting barriers, for example. Hot electron devices that have made a recent impact, namely, the Camel transistor, the planar doped Barrier transistor, and the tunneling hot electron transfer amplifier are described in detail.