Remote polar phonon scattering in Si inversion layers

The effects upon the drift velocity and electron temperatures in silicon inversion layers due to interfacial polar-mode phonons in the Si/SiO₂ interface have been calculated at various temperatures. These calculations were carried out at 77, 150, and 300 K using a three-energy-level model for transport in the quasi-two-dimensional inversion layer assuming a drifted-Maxwellian distribution. The effects of the polar interface phonon scattering are compared to the effects of scattering due to Si bulk phonons, interface charges, and interface roughness. The effects of the remote phonons are found to be small in the drift velocity, but are significant as an energy relaxation mechanism at high fields and large inversion densities.