Abstract
In this paper, a model for hot-electron transport and capture phenomena in semiconductor heterostructures with multiple uncoupled quantum wells (QW) excited by infrared radiation is presented. The model takes into account the nonlocal character of the electron transport and capture of mobile electrons propagating over the barriers. It includes the Poisson equation and balance equations for electrons and their energy. The model is used for the calculation of steady-state spatial distributions of the electric-field and the average electron energy in multiple QW structures. The conditions of the formation of periodic electric-field domains revealed recently in ensemble Monte Carlo particle simulations are found. The obtained results are compared with the previous analytical calculations based on a simplified model. The relationships between phenomenological parameters of the latter and QW structure parameters are obtained. The developed analytical model highlights the origin of periodic electric-field domains in multiple QW structures and explains some features of such domain behavior.