Semi-insulating GaAs samples present N-shaped negative differential conductivity under high-electric fields. This behavior can be associated with two physical processes: Impact ionization (generation) and field-enhanced trapping (recombination), both of which involve trapped and free electrons. We have analyzed the j(E) characteristic curves of a GaAs sample rich in As antisite defects at different conditions of temperature and illumination. The fitting was carried out using an analytical expression for j(E) based on the competition between the above-mentioned processes. Our analysis permits us to identify the temperature and illumination ranges in which those processes are relevant. The best fittings were obtained for measurements between 150 and 200 K and using an infrared photon flux of the order of 1011 photons/cm2 s.

We present an experimental study of bifurcation diagrams from low frequency current oscillations (LFO) measurements obtained from semi-insulating GaAs samples grown by low temperature molecular beam Epitaxy (LT-MBE). The considered growth temperatures were 215˚C and 265˚C. LFO are considered to be spontaneously generated oscillations under constant applied bias V . These oscillations were measurement and recorded in the form of time series. The bifurcation diagrams were obtained from the sequence of minima as a function of the applied bias. The standard measurement procedure was described elsewhere. As the control parameter, the bias allows the identification of a bifurcation route to chaos.

Electric transport properties measured by Van der Pauw resistivity experiments of Low-Temperature Molecular Beam Epitaxy (LT-MBE) GaAs samples are used to identify a method to improve the resistivity of GaAs material. We present results on five samples grown at 265, 310, 315, 325, and 345 o C. The electric measurements were carried out at temperatures ranging from 130 to 300 K. In this temperature range the dominant transport process is identified as variable range hopping. The hopping parameter plotted against the growth temperature is shown to present a maximum. The mechanisms responsible for this behavior are discussed in relation to the compensation ratio.

Studying the transport properties via Hall and resistivity measurements of low-temperature molecular-beam epitaxy (LT-MBE) GaAs samples, the optimal conditions for fabricating high-resistivity material are found. We present results on three LT-MBE GaAs samples grown at 215, 265, and 315 °C. The measurements were carried out at temperatures ranging from 130 to 300 K, and the hopping conduction mechanism in this range is identified as variable range hopping. The sample grown at 315 °C presents the highest hopping parameter; this appears to be due to a reduction in the density of hopping centers. The mechanisms responsible for this are discussed.

We investigated the effect of adding the fi eld-dependent recombination process, namely fi eld-enhanced trapping, to the generation-recombination processes of charge carriers that model current oscillations in semiconductors. The main new features arising from this modifi cation are identifi ed in bifurcation diagrams with the electric fi eld as the control parameter. The characteristic of the bifurcation diagrams is a function of impurity energy. Thus, we generated a set of bifurcation diagrams for a range of the impurity energy and applied bias. The energy dependence of the bifurcation diagrams is discussed considering the context of the competition between the generation-recombination mechanisms impact ionization and fi eld-enhanced trapping.