Charge carrier inertia in semiconductors

The conduction process in semiconductors exhibits effects associated with inertia of the carriers when the observation frequency is comparable to the reciprocal of the relaxation time for randomization of momenta. These effects can cause significant changes in the conductivity and permittivity of germanium and silicon measured at ordinary microwave frequencies and should become increasingly important as semiconductor devices are developed for ultra-microwave applications. The present paper derives equivalent circuits which illustrate inertial effects and discusses their temperature dependence. A highly accurate reflection bridge technique for measuring microwave conductivity and permittivity is then described. Finally, measurements of conductivity and permittivity of n-type silicon and p-type germanium at 24 Gc and at temperatures between 77° and 300° Kelvin are presented and compared with theory. At 77°, the inertial effects are found to be largest for the p-type germanium and cause the microwave conductivity to be less than the dc conductivity by a factor of one-half.