Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves in Semiconductor Plasmas under Crossed Steady Electric and Magnetic Fields

Abstract

The propagation of low frequency electromagnetic waves in single component infinite semiconductor plasmas under the combined action of dc crossed electric and magnetic fields, E0, B0, is investigated using the kinetic method. Using a modified form of the well‐known relaxation‐time approximation given by Bhatnagar for the collision term in the Boltzmann equation the dielectric tensor is calculated for propagation vectors q lying in the plane formed by E0 and B0. It is shown that only the refined relaxation‐time assumption can lead to consistent results concerning the conservation of particles. Finally the dispersion relation resulting from the dielectric tensor is discussed for q ‖ B0 and q ‖ E0.