Lucky‐drift model for avalanche multiplication in amorphous semiconductors

A new model for avalanche carrier multiplication in amorphous semiconductors is suggested. In contrary to previous considerations, the model does not employ the Shockley's lucky‐electron ansatz according to which a free carrier gains the energy from electric field in a ballistic motion. We show that the majority of free carriers reaching the ionization threshold energy do so by drift, not ballistically. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)