Kinetic theory of ionization and electron capture by a charged impurity in a semiconductor

Inelastic electron-phonon scattering in which the electron is captured or escapes from the Coulomb field of an impurity is taken into account in the kinetic equation for conduction electrons. This scattering is shown to become strong in a certain energy range. In this range, the distribution functions of free and bound electrons are correlated in such a way that there is a balance between the trapping and ionization processes. The existence of a region of strong scattering is the decisive factor in calculating the experimentally measurable trapping and ionization coefficients, which enter into the electron balance equation.