Quantum well devices can be investigated through the use of computational predictions of the electron-electron subband scattering rates. A high-accuracy prediction requires the calculation of the quantum well electron polarizability. An approximation is sometimes made that renders the integral in the polarizability equation analytically solvable. This study comprehensively quantifies the error and the limitations introduced through the use of this approximation. The approximate polarizability equation is found to introduce significant error for certain scenarios. Furthermore, the approximate polarizability equation is found to fail to give any numeric answer at all for relatively high temperatures and low electron densities.

Date Published: 11 September 2018
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 10725, Low-Dimensional Materials and Devices 2018, 107250E (11 September 2018); doi: 10.1117/12.2323523

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 10725:
Low-Dimensional Materials and Devices 2018
Nobuhiko P. Kobayashi; A. Alec Talin; M. Saif Islam; Albert V. Davydov, Editor(s)